Nat the Naturalist; or, A Boy's Adventures in the Eastern Seasby George Manville Fenn. 

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Nat's mother and father have died, and he is being brought up by an auntand uncle, the latter being his mother's brother. His aunt does notcare at all for boys, and in particular makes sniping remarks at Nat thewhole time. But Nat's uncle is very fond of him, and they are greatfriends. 

But enter the aunt's brother, a famous naturalist, back from some tripin South America. Nat, who has already shown great interest incollecting specimens from nature, is enthralled, helps him to stuff andcatalogue his specimens, and eventually persuades him to take him (Nat)with him on his next trip. 

This requires a little training in shooting and sailing. Then they areoff, on a P&O liner sailing from Marseilles. On arriving in the JavaSeas they disembark, purchase a little boat, and set off. Very soon theyare joined by an enthusiastic native, and the trio spend some yearscollecting numerous splendid specimens, of birds, beetles, and anythingelse they can. 

An unfriendly tribe of natives steal their boat, but does not find theirhut and specimens. They set-to to build a boat of some sort, to getthemselves away from such an unfriendly place. At the same time theirnative assistant disappears, presumably murdered by the unfriendlylocals. What happens next I will not spoil the story by telling. 

You'll enjoy it. 

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NAT THE NATURALIST; OR, A BOY'S ADVENTURES IN THE EASTERN SEAS, BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN. 

CHAPTER ONE. 

WHY I WENT TO MY UNCLE'S. 

"I don't know what to do with him. I never saw such a boy--a miserablelittle coward, always in mischief and doing things he ought not to do, and running about the place with his whims and fads. I wish you'd sendhim right away, I do. "

My aunt went out of the room, and I can't say she banged the door, butshe shut it very hard, leaving me and my uncle face to face staring oneat the other. 

My uncle did not speak for some minutes, but sat poking at his hair withthe waxy end of his pipe, for he was a man who smoked a great deal afterdinner; the mornings he spent in his garden, being out there as early asfive o'clock in the summer and paying very little attention to the rain. 

He was a very amiable, mild-tempered man, who had never had anychildren, in fact he did not marry till quite late in life; when Iremember my poor father saying that it was my aunt married my uncle, foruncle would never have had the courage to ask her. 

I say "my poor father", for a couple of years after that marriage, thenews came home that he had been lost at sea with the whole of the crewof the great vessel of which he was the surgeon. 

I remember it all so well; the terrible blank and trouble that seemed tohave come upon our house, with my mother's illness that followed, andthat dreadful day when Uncle Joseph came down-stairs to me in thedining-room, and seating himself by the fire filled and lit his pipe, took two or three puffs, and then threw the pipe under the grate, lethis head go down upon his hands, and cried like a child. 

A minute or two later, when I went up to him in great trouble and laidmy hand upon his shoulder, saying, "Don't cry, uncle; she'll be bettersoon, " he caught me in his arms and held me to his breast. 

"Nat, my boy, " he said, "I've promised her that I'll be like a father toyou now, and I will. "

I knew only too soon why he said those words, for a week later I was anorphan boy indeed; and I was at Uncle Joseph's house, feeling verymiserable and unhappy in spite of his kind ways and the pains he took tomake me comfortable. 

I was not so wretched when I was alone with uncle in the garden, wherehe would talk to me about his peas and potatoes and the fruit-trees, show me how to find the snails and slugs, and encourage me to shoot atthe thieving birds with a crossbow and arrow; but I was miserable indeedwhen I went in, for my aunt was a very sharp, acid sort of woman, whoseemed to have but one idea, and that was to keep the house so terriblytidy that it was always uncomfortable to the people who were in it. 

It used to be, "Nat, have you wiped your shoes?"

"Let me look, sir. Ah! I thought so. Not half wiped. Go and takethem off directly, and put on your slippers. You're as bad as youruncle, sir. "

I used to think I should like to be as good. 

"I declare, " said my aunt, "I haven't a bit of peace of my life with thedirt and dust. The water-cart never comes round here as it does in theother roads, and the house gets filthy. Moil and toil, moil and toil, from morning to night, and no thanks whatever. "

When my aunt talked like this she used to screw up her face and seem asif she were going to cry, and she spoke in a whining, unpleasant tone ofvoice; but I never remember seeing her cry, and I used to wonder why shewould trouble herself about dusting with a cloth and feather brush frommorning to night, when there were three servants to do all the work. 

I have heard the cook tell Jane the housemaid that Mrs Pilgarlic wasnever satisfied; but it was some time before I knew whom she meant; andto this day I don't know why she gave my aunt such a name. 

Whenever aunt used to be more than usually fretful, as time went on myuncle would get up softly, give me a peculiar look, and go out into thegarden, where, if I could, I followed, and we used to talk, and weed, and train the flowers; but very often my aunt would pounce upon me andorder me to sit still and keep out of mischief if I could. 

I was very glad when my uncle decided to send me to school, and I usedto go to one in our neighbourhood, so that I was a good deal away fromhome, as uncle said I was to call his house now; and school and thegarden were the places where I was happiest in those days. 

"Yes, my boy, " said my uncle, "I should like you to call this home, forthough your aunt pretends she doesn't like it, she does, you know, Nat;and you mustn't mind her being a bit cross, Nat. It isn't temper, youknow, it's weakness. It's her digestion's bad, and she's a sufferer, that's what she is. She's wonderfully fond of you, Nat. "

I remember thinking that she did not show it. 

"And you must try and get on, Nat, and get lots of learning, " he wouldoften say when we were out in the garden. "You won't be poor when yougrow up, for your poor mother has left you a nice bit of money, but youmight lose that, Nat, my boy; nobody could steal your knowledge, and--ah, you rascal, got you, have I?"

This last was to a great snail which he raked out from among some tenderplants that had been half eaten away. 

"Yes, Nat, get all the knowledge you can and work hard at your books. "

But somehow I didn't get on well with the other boys, for I cared solittle for their rough games. I was strong enough of my age, but Ipreferred getting out on to Clapham Common on half-holidays, to look forlizards in the furze, or to catch the bright-coloured sticklebacks inthe ponds, or else to lie down on the bank under one of the trees, andwatch the efts coming up to the top to make a little bubble and then godown again, waving their bodies of purple and orange and the gay creststhat they sometimes had all along their backs in the spring. 

When I used to lie there thinking, I did not seem to be on ClaphamCommon, but far away on the banks of some huge lake in a foreign landwith the efts and lizards, crocodiles; and the big worms that Isometimes found away from their holes in wet weather became serpents ina moist jungle. 

Of course I got all these ideas from books, and great trouble I foundmyself in one day for playing at tiger-hunting in the garden at homewith Buzzy, my aunt's great tabby tom-cat; and for pretending that Napwas a lion in the African desert. But I'll tell you that in a chapterto itself, for these matters had a good deal to do with the alterationin my mode of life. 

CHAPTER TWO. 

FIRST THOUGHTS OF HUNTING. 

As I told you, my uncle had no children, and the great house atStreatham was always very quiet. In fact one of my aunt's strictinjunctions was that she should not be disturbed by any noise of mine. But aunt had her pets--Buzzy, and Nap. 

Buzzy was the largest striped tom-cat, I think, that I ever saw, andvery much to my aunt's annoyance he became very fond of me, so much sothat if he saw me going out in the garden he would leap off my aunt'slap, where she was very fond of nursing him, stroking his back, beginning with his head and ending by drawing his tail right through herhand; all of which Buzzy did not like, but he would lie there and swear, trying every now and then to get free, but only to be held down andsoftly whipped into submission. 

Buzzy decidedly objected to being nursed, and as soon as he could getfree he would rush after me down the garden, where he would go boundingalong, arching his back, and setting up the fur upon his tail. Everynow and then he would hide in some clump, and from thence charge out atme, and if I ran after him, away he would rush up a tree trunk, and thencrouch on a branch with glowing eyes, tearing the while with his clawsat the bark as if in a tremendous state of excitement, ready to bounddown again, and race about till he was tired, after which I had only tostoop down and say, "Come on, " when he would leap on to my back andperch himself upon my shoulder, purring softly as I carried him roundthe grounds. 

I used to have some good fun, too, with Nap, when my aunt was out; butshe was so jealous of her favourite's liking for me that at last I neverused to have a game with Nap when she was at home. 

Buzzy could come out and play quietly, but Nap always got to be soexcited, lolling out his tongue and yelping and barking with delight ashe tore round after me, pretending to bite and worry me, and rollingover and over, and tumbling head over heels as he capered and boundedabout. 

I think Nap was the ugliest dog I ever saw, for he was one of thosedirty white French poodles, and my aunt used to have him clipped, tolook like a lion, as she said, and have him washed with hot soap andwater every week. 

Nothing pleased Nap better than to go out in the garden with me, but Igot into sad trouble about it more than once. 

"Look at him, Joseph, " my aunt would say, "it's just as if it was doneon purpose to annoy me. Beautifully washed as he was yesterday, and nowlook at him with his curly mane all over earth, and with bits of strawand dead leaves sticking in it. If you don't send that boy away to aboarding-school I won't stay in the house. "

Then my uncle would look troubled, and take me into his own room, wherehe kept his books and garden seeds. 

"You mustn't do it, Nat, my boy, indeed you mustn't. You see how itannoys your aunt. "

"I didn't think I was doing any harm, uncle, " I protested. "Nap jumpedout of the window, and leaped up at me as if he wanted a game, and Ionly raced round the garden with him. "

"You didn't rub the earth and dead leaves in his coat then, Nat?" saidmy uncle. 

"Oh no!" I said; "he throws himself on his side and pushes himselfalong, rubs his head on the ground, sometimes on one side, sometimes onthe other. I think it's because he has got f--"

"Shush! Hush! my dear boy, " cried my uncle, clapping his hand over mylips. "If your aunt for a moment thought that there were any insects inthat dog, she would be ill. "

"But I'm sure that there are some in his coat, uncle, " I said, "for ifyou watch him when he's lying on the hearth-rug to-night, every now andthen he jumps up and snaps at them, and bites the place. "

"Shush! yes, my boy, " he whispered; "but don't talk about it. Your auntis so particular. It's a secret between us. "

I couldn't help smiling at him, and after a moment or two he smiled atme, and then patted me on the shoulder. 

"Don't do anything to annoy your aunt, my boy, " he said; "I wouldn'tplay with Nap if I were you. "

"I'll try not to, uncle, " I said; "but he will come and coax me to playwith him sometimes. "

"H'm! yes, " said my uncle thoughtfully, "and it does do him good, poordog. He eats too much, and gets too fat for want of exercise. Supposeyou only play with him when your aunt goes out for a walk. "

"Very well, uncle, " I said, and then he shook hands with me, and gave mehalf a crown. 

I couldn't help it, I was obliged to spend that half-crown in somethingI had been wanting for weeks. It was a large crossbow that hung up inthe toy-shop window in Streatham, and that bow had attracted myattention every time I went out. 

To some boys a crossbow would be only a crossbow, but to me it meanttravels in imagination all over the world. I saw myself shooting applesoff boys' heads, transfixing eagles in their flight, slaying wildbeasts, and bringing home endless trophies of the chase, so at the firstopportunity I was off to the shop, and with my face glowing withexcitement and delight I bought and took home the crossbow. 

"Hallo, Nat!" said Uncle Joseph. "Why, what's that--a crossbow?"

"Yes, uncle; isn't it a beauty?" I cried excitedly. 

"Well, yes, my boy, " he said; "but, but--how about your aunt? Supposeyou were to break a window with that, eh? What should we do?"

"But I won't shoot in that direction, uncle, " I promised. 

"Or shoot out Jane's or Cook's eye? It would be very dreadful, my boy. "

"Oh, yes, uncle, " I cried; "but I will be so careful, and perhaps I mayshoot some of the birds that steal the cherries. "

"Ah! yes, my boy, so you might, " he said rubbing his hands softly. "Mybest bigarreaus. Those birds are a terrible nuisance, Nat, that theyare. You'll be careful, though?"

"Yes, I'll be careful, uncle, " I said; and he went away nodding andsmiling, while I went off to Clapham Common to try the bow and the shortthick arrows supplied therewith. 

It was glorious. At every twang away flew the arrow or the piece oftobacco-pipe I used instead; and at last, after losing one shaft in theshort turf, I found myself beside the big pond over on the far side, onethat had the reputation of being full of great carp and eels. 

My idea here was to shoot the fish, but as there were none visible toshoot I had to be content with trying to hit the gliding spiders on thesurface with pieces of tobacco-pipe as long as they lasted, for I darednot waste another arrow, and then with my mind full of adventures inforeign countries I walked home. 

The next afternoon my aunt went out, and I took the bow down the garden, leaving my uncle enjoying his pipe. I had been very busy all thatmorning, it being holiday time, in making some fresh arrows for apurpose I had in view, and, so as to be humane, I had made the heads bycutting off the tops of some old kid gloves, ramming their finger-endsfull of cotton-wool, and then tying them to the thin deal arrows, sothat each bolt had a head like a little soft leather ball. 

"Those can't hurt him, " I said to myself; and taking a dozen of thesebolts in my belt I went down the garden, with Buzzy at my heels, for agood tiger-hunt. 

For the next half-hour Streatham was nowhere, and that old-fashionedgarden with its fruit-trees had become changed into a wild jungle, through which a gigantic tiger kept charging, whose doom I had fixed. Shot after shot I had at the monster--once after it had bounded into thefork of a tree, another time as it was stealing through the wavingreeds, represented by the asparagus bed. Later on, after much creepingand stalking, with the tiger stalking me as well as springing out at meagain and again, but never getting quite home, I had a shot as it waslurking beside the great lake, represented by our tank. Here itsstriped sides were plainly visible, and, going down on hands and knees, I crept along between two rows of terrible thorny trees that bore sweetjuicy berries in the season, but which were of the wildest nature now, till I could get a good aim at the monster's shoulder, and see its softlithe tail twining and writhing like a snake. 

I crept on, full of excitement, for a leafy plant that I refused to ownas a cabbage no longer intercepted my view. Then lying flat upon mychest I fitted an arrow to my bow, and was cautiously taking aim, telling myself that if I missed I should be seized by the monster, whensome slight sound I made caused it to spring up, presenting its stripedflank for a target as it gazed here and there. 

Play as it was, it was all intensely real to me; and in those moments Iwas as full of excitement as if I had been in some distant land and inperil of my life. 

Then, after long and careful aim, twang went the bow, and to my intensedelight the soft-headed arrow struck the monster full in the flank, making it bound up a couple of feet and then pounce upon the bolt, andcanter off at full speed towards a dense thicket of scarlet-runners. 

"Victory, victory!" I cried excitedly; "wounded, wounded!" and I setoff in chase, but approaching cautiously and preparing my bow again, forI had read that the tiger was most dangerous when in the throes ofdeath. 

I forget what I called the scarlet-runner thicket, but by some easternname, and drawing nearer I found an opportunity for another shot, whichmissed. 

Away bounded Buzzy, evidently enjoying the fun, and I after him, to findhim at bay beneath a currant bush. 

I was a dozen yards away in the central path, and, of course, in fullview of the upper windows of the house; but if I had noted that factthen, I was so far gone in the romance of the situation that I daresay Ishould have called the house the rajah's palace. As it was I hadforgotten its very existence in the excitement of the chase. 

"This time, monster, thou shalt die, " I cried, as I once more fired, making Buzzy leap into the path, and then out of sight amongst thecabbages. 

"Hurray! hurray!" I shouted, waving my crossbow above my head, "themonster is slain! the monster is slain!"

There was a piercing shriek behind me, and I turned, bow in hand, tofind myself face to face with my aunt. 

CHAPTER THREE. 

HOW I HUNTED THE LION IN NO-MAN'S-LAND AND WHAT FOLLOWED. 

My aunt's cry brought out Uncle Joseph in a terrible state ofexcitement, and it was not until after a long chase and Buzzy was caughtthat she could be made to believe that he had not received a mortalwound. And a tremendous chase it was, for the more Uncle Joseph and Itried to circumvent that cat, the more he threw himself into the fun ofthe hunt and dodged us, running up trees like a squirrel, leaping downwith his tail swollen to four times its usual size, and going over thebeds in graceful bounds, till Uncle Joseph sat down to pant and wipe hisface while I continued the chase; but all in vain. Sometimes I nearlycaught the cat, but he would be off again just as I made a spring toseize him, while all Aunt Sophia's tender appeals to "poor Buzzy then, ""my poor pet then, " fell upon ears that refused to hear her. 

"Oh how stupid I am!" I said to myself. "Oh, Buzzy, this is too bad togive me such a chase. Come here, sir, directly;" and I stooped down. 

It had the required result, for Buzzy leaped down off the wall up whichhe had scrambled, jumped on to my back, settled himself comfortably withhis fore-paws on my shoulder, and began to purr with satisfaction. 

"I am glad, my boy, " said Uncle Joseph, "so glad you have caught him;but have you hurt him much?"

"He isn't hurt at all, uncle, " I said. "It was all in play. "

"But your aunt is in agony, my boy. Here, let me take the cat to her. "

He stretched out his hands to take the cat from my shoulder, but Buzzy'seyes dilated and he began to swear, making my uncle start back, for hedreaded a scratch from anything but a rose thorn, and those he did notmind. 

"Would you mind taking him to your aunt, Natty, my boy?" he said. 

"No, uncle, if you'll please come too, " I said. "Don't let aunt scoldme, uncle; I'm very sorry, and it was only play. "

"I'll come with you, Nat, " he said, shaking his head; "but I ought notto have let you have that bow, and I'm afraid she will want it burnt. "

"Will she be very cross?" I said. 

"I'm afraid so, my boy. " And she really was. 

"Oh you wicked, wicked boy, " she cried as I came up; "what were youdoing?"

"Only playing at tiger-hunting, aunt, " I said. 

"With my poor darling Buzzy! Come to its own mistress then, Buzzy, " shecried pityingly. "Did the wicked, cruel boy--oh dear!"

_Wur-r-ur! spit, spit_!

That was Buzzy's reply to his mistress's attempt to take him from myshoulder, and he made an attempt to scratch. 

"And he used to be as gentle as a lamb, " cried my aunt. "You wicked, wicked boy, you must have hurt my darling terribly to make him so angrywith his mistress whom he loves. "

I protested that I had not, but it was of no use, and I was in greatdisgrace for some days; but Aunt Sophia forgot to confiscate mycrossbow. 

The scolding I received ought to have had more effect upon me, but itdid not; for it was only a week afterwards that I was again in disgrace, and for the same fault, only with this difference, that in my fancy thegarden had become a South African desert, and Nap was the lion I wasengaged in hunting. 

I did him no harm, I am sure, but a great deal of good, with theexercise; and the way in which he entered into the sport delighted me. He charged me and dashed after me when I fled; when I hid behind treesto shoot at him he seized the arrows, if they hit him, and worried themfiercely; while whenever they missed him, in place of dashing at me hewould run after the arrows and bring them in his mouth to where hethought I was hiding. 

I don't think Nap had any more sense than dogs have in general, but hewould often escape from my aunt when I came home from school, and runbefore me to the big cupboard where I kept my treasures, raise himselfupon his hind-legs, and tear at the door till I opened it and took outthe crossbow, when he would frisk round and round in the highest stateof delight, running out into the garden, dashing back, running outagain, and entering into the spirit of the game with as much pleasure asI did. 

But the fun to be got out of a crossbow gets wearisome after a time, especially when you find that in spite of a great deal of practice it isvery hard to hit anything that is at all small. 

The time glided on, and I was very happy still with my uncle; butsomehow Aunt Sophia seemed to take quite a dislike to me; and no matterhow I tried to do what was right, and to follow out my uncle's wishes, Iwas always in trouble about something or another. 

One summer Uncle Joseph bought me a book on butterflies, with colouredplates, which so interested me that I began collecting the very nextday, and captured a large cabbage butterfly. 

No great rarity this, but it was a beginning; and after pinning it outas well as I could I began to think of a cabinet, collecting-boxes, anet, and a packet of entomological pins. 

I only had to tell Uncle Joseph my wants and he was eager to help me. 

"Collecting-boxes, Nat?" he said, rubbing his hands softly; "why, I usedto use pill-boxes when I was a boy: there are lots up-stairs. "

He hunted me out over a dozen that afternoon, and supplied me with anold drawer and a piece of camphor, entering into the matter with as muchzest as I did myself. Then he obtained an old green gauze veil from myaunt, and set to work with me in the tool-house to make a net, after thecompletion of which necessity he proposed that we should go the verynext afternoon as far as Clapham Common to capture insects. 

He did not go with me, for my aunt wanted him to hold skeins of wool forher to wind, but he made up to me for the disappointment that evening bysitting by me while I pinned out my few but far from rare captures, taking great pleasure in holding the pins for me, and praising what hecalled my cleverness in cutting out pieces of card. 

I did not know anything till it came quite as a surprise, and it wassmuggled into the house so that my aunt did not know, Jane, according touncle's orders, carrying it up to my bedroom. 

It was a large butterfly-case, made to open out in two halves like abackgammon board; and in this, as soon as they were dry, I used to pinmy specimens, examining them with delight, and never seeming to weary ofnoting the various markings, finding out their names, and numberingthem, and keeping their proper titles in a book I had for the purpose. 

I did not confine myself to butterflies, but caught moths and beetles, with dragon-flies from the edges of the ponds on Clapham Common, longingto go farther afield, but not often obtaining a chance. Then, as Ibegan to find specimens scarce, I set to collecting other things thatseemed interesting, and at last, during a visit paid by my aunt to somefriends, Uncle Joseph took me to the British Museum to see thebutterflies there, so, he said, that I might pick up a few hints formanaging my own collection. 

That visit turned me into an enthusiast, for before we returned I hadbeen for hours feasting my eyes upon the stuffed birds and noting thewondrous colours on their scale-like feathers. 

I could think of scarcely anything else, talk of nothing else afterwardsfor days; and nothing would do but I must begin to collect birds andprepare and stuff them for myself. 

"You wouldn't mind, would you, uncle?" I said. 

"Mind? No, my boy, " he said, rubbing his hands softly; "I should likeit; but do you think you could stuff a bird?"

"Not at first, " I said thoughtfully; "but I should try. "

"To be sure, Nat, " he cried smiling; "nothing like trying, my boy; buthow would you begin?"

This set me thinking. 

"I don't know, uncle, " I said at last, "but it looks very easy. "

"Ha! ha! ha! Nat; so do lots of things, " he cried, laughing; "butsometimes they turn out very hard. "

"I know, " I said suddenly. 

"I know, " I said, "I could find out how to do it. "

"Have some lessons, eh?" he said. 

"No, uncle. "

"How would you manage it then, Nat?"

"Buy a stuffed bird, uncle, and pull it to pieces, and see how it isdone. "

"To be sure, Nat, " he cried; "to be sure, my boy. That's the way; butstop a moment; how would you put it together again?"

"Oh! I think I could, uncle, " I said; "I'm nearly sure I could. Howcould I get one to try with?"

"Why, we might buy one somewhere, " he said thoughtfully; "for I don'tthink they'd lend us one at the British Museum; but I tell you what, Nat, " he cried: "I've got it. "

"Have you, uncle?"

"To be sure, my boy. There's your aunt's old parrot that died and wasstuffed. Don't you know?"

I shook my head. 

"It was put somewhere up-stairs in the lumber-room, and your aunt hasforgotten all about it. You might try with that. "

"And I'd stuff it again when I had found out all about it, uncle, " Isaid. 

"To be sure, my boy, " said uncle, thoughtfully; "I wonder whether youraunt would want Buzzy and Nap stuffed if they were to die?"

"She'd be sure to; aunt is so fond of them, " I said. "Why, uncle, Imight be able to do it myself. "

"Think so?" he said thoughtfully. "Why, it would make her pleased, myboy. "

But neither Buzzy nor Nap showed the slightest intention of dying so asto be stuffed, and I had to learn the art before I could attemptanything of the kind. 

CHAPTER FOUR. 

THE REMAINS OF POOR POLLY. 

The very first opportunity, my uncle took me up with him to thelumber-room, an attic of which my aunt kept the key; and here, afterquite a hunt amongst old portmanteaux, broken chairs, dusty tables, bird-cages, wrecked kennels, cornice-poles, black-looking pictures, anddozens of other odds and ends, we came in a dark corner upon the remainsof one of my aunt's earliest pets. It was the stuffed figure of a greyparrot that had once stood beneath a glass shade, but the shade wasbroken, and poor Polly, who looked as if she had been moulting eversince she had been fixed upon her present perch, had her head partlytorn from her shoulders. 

"Here she is, " said my uncle. "Poor old Polly! What a bird she was toscreech! She never liked me, Nat, but used to call me _wretch_, asplain as you could say it yourself. It was very wicked of me, I daresay, Nat, but I was so glad when she died, and your aunt was so sorrythat she cried off and on for a week. "

"But she never was a pretty bird, uncle, " I said, holding the stuffedcreature to the light. 

"No, my boy, never, and she used to pull off her feathers when she wasin a passion, and call people _wretch_. She bit your aunt's nose once. But do you think it will do?"

"Oh yes, uncle, " I said; "but may I pull it to pieces?"

"Well, yes, my boy, I think so, " he said dreamily. "You couldn't spoilit, could you?"

"Why, it is spoiled already, Uncle Joe, " I said. 

"Yes, my boy, so it is; quite spoiled. I think I'll risk it, Nat. "

"But if aunt would be very cross, uncle, hadn't I better leave it?" Isaid. 

"If you didn't take it, Nat, she would never see it again, and it wouldlie here and moulder away. I think you had better take it, my boy. "

I was so eager to begin that I hesitated no more, but took the bird outinto the tool-house, where I could make what aunt called "a mess"without being scolded, and uncle put on his smoking-cap, lit his pipe, and brought a high stool to sit upon and watch me make my first attemptat mastering a mystery. 

The first thing was to take Polly off her perch, which was a piece oftwig covered with moss, that had once been glued on, but now came awayin my hands, and I found that the bird had been kept upright by means ofwires that ran down her legs and were wound about the twig. 

Uncle smoked away as solemnly as could be, while I went on, and heseemed to be admiring my earnestness. 

"There's wire up the legs, uncle, " I cried, as I felt about the bird. 

"Oh! is there?" he said, condescendingly. 

"Yes, uncle, and two more pieces in the wings. "

"You don't say so, Nat!"

"Yes, uncle, and another bit runs right through the body from the headto the tail; and--yes--no--yes--no--ah, I've found out how it is thatthe tail is spread. "

"Have you, Nat?" he cried, letting his pipe out, he was so full ofinterest. 

"Yes, uncle; there's a thin wire threaded through all the tail feathers, just as if they were beads. "

"Why, what a boy you are!" he cried, wonderingly. 

"Oh, it's easy enough to find that out, uncle, " I said, colouring. "Nowlet's see what's inside. "

"Think there's anything inside, Natty, my boy?"

"Oh yes, uncle, " I said; "it's full of something. Why, it's tow. "

"Toe, my boy!" he said seriously, "parrot's toe?"

"T-o-w. Tow, uncle, what they use to clean the lamps. I can stuff abird, uncle, I know. "

"Think you can, Natty?"

"Yes, to be sure, " I said confidently. "Why, look here, it's easy tomake a ball of tow the same shape as an egg for the body, and then topush wires through the body, and wings, and legs; no, stop a moment, they seem to be fastened in. Yes, so they are, but I know I can do it. "

Uncle Joe held his pipe in his mouth with his teeth and rubbed his handswith satisfaction, for he was as pleased with my imagined success as Iwas, and as he looked on I pulled out the stuffing from the skin, placing the wings here, the legs there, and the tail before me, whilethe head with its white-irised glass eye was stuck upon a nail in thewall just over the bench. 

"I feel as sure as can be, uncle, that I could stuff one. "

"Ha! ha! ha!" he laughed. "_Wretch! wretch! wretch_! That's what Pollywould say if she could speak. See how you've pulled her to pieces. "

I looked up as he spoke, and there was the head with its queer glasseyes seeming to stare hard at me, and at the mess of skin and featherson the bench. 

"Well, I have pulled her to pieces, haven't I, uncle?" I said. 

"That you have, my boy, " he said, chuckling, as if he thought it verygood fun. 

"But I have learned how to stuff a bird, uncle, " I said triumphantly. 

"And are you going to stuff Polly again?" he asked, gazing at the raggedfeathers and skin. 

I looked at him quite guiltily. 

"I--I don't think I could put this one together again, uncle, " I said. "You see it was so ragged and torn before I touched it, and the feathersare coming out all over the place. But I could do a fresh one. You seethere's nothing here but the skin. All the feathers are falling away. "

"Yes, " said my uncle, "and I know--"

"Know what, uncle?"

"Why, they do the skin over with some stuff to preserve it, and you'llhave to get it at the chemist's. "

"Yes, uncle. "

"And I don't know, Natty, " he said, "but I think you might try and putpoor old Polly together again, for I don't feel quite comfortable abouther; you have made her in such a dreadful mess. "

"Yes, I have, indeed, uncle, " I said dolefully, for the eagerness wasbeginning to evaporate. 

"And your aunt was very fond of her, my boy, and she wouldn't like it ifshe knew. "

"But I'm afraid I couldn't put her together again now, uncle;" and thenI began to tremble, and my uncle leaped off his stool, and broke hispipe: for there was my aunt's well-known step on the gravel, anddirectly after we heard her cry:

"Joseph! Nathaniel! What are you both doing?" And I knew that Ishould have to confess. 

CHAPTER FIVE. 

HOW MY UNCLE AND I PUT HUMPTY DUMPTY TOGETHER AGAIN. 

My uncle stood by me very bravely when Aunt Sophia entered thetool-house with an exclamation of surprise. For a few minutes she couldnot understand what we had been about. 

"Feathers--a bird--a parrot!" she exclaimed at last. "Why, it is likepoor Polly. "

I looked very guiltily at my uncle and was about to speak, but he mademe a signal to be silent. 

"Yes, my dear, " he faltered, "it--it was poor Polly. We--we found herin the lumber-room--all in ruins, my dear, and we--we have beenexamining her. "

"I don't believe it, " said my aunt sharply. "That mischievous boy hasbeen at his tricks again. "

"I assure you, my dear, " cried my uncle, "I had to do with it as well. I helped him. Nat wants to understand bird-stuffing, and we have beento the museum and then we came home. "

"Well, of course you did, " said my aunt tartly; "do you suppose Ithought you stopped to live in the museum?"

"No, my dear, of course not, " said my uncle, laughing feebly. "We arestudying the art of taxidermy, my dear, Nat and I. "

He added this quite importantly, putting his eyeglasses on and noddingto me for my approval and support. 

"Bless the man! Taxi what?" cried my aunt, who seemed to be fascinatedby Polly's eyes; and she began to softly scratch the feathers on theback of the head. 

"Taxi-dermy, " said my uncle, "and--and, my dear, I wouldn't scratchPolly's head if I were you; the skins are preserved with poison. "

"Bless my heart!" exclaimed my aunt, snatching back her hand; and thenholding out a finger to me: "Wipe that, Nat. "

I took out my handkerchief, dipped a corner in the watering-pot, andcarefully wiped the finger clear of anything that might be sticking toit, though, as my own hands were so lately in contact with Polly's skin, I don't believe that I did much good; but it satisfied my aunt, whoturned once more to Uncle Joe. 

"Now then, Joseph; what did you say?"

"Taxi-dermy, my dear, " he said again importantly; "the art of preservingand mounting the skins of dead animals. "

"And a nice mess you'll both make, I dare say, " cried my aunt. 

"But not indoors, my dear. We shall be very careful. You see Polly hadbeen a good deal knocked about. Your large black box had fallen rightupon her, and her head was off, my dear. The glass shade was inshivers. "

"Poor Polly, yes, " said my aunt, "I had her put there because of themoths in her feathers. Well, mind this, I shall expect Natty to repairher very nicely; and you must buy a new glass shade, Joseph. Ah, myprecious!"

This was to Nap, who, in reply to her tender speech, made three or fourbounds to get to me, but aunt caught him by the ear and held him withthe skin of his face pulled sidewise, so that he seemed to be winking atme as he lolled out his thin red tongue, and uttered a low whine. 

"But mind this, I will not have any mess made indoors. "

As she spoke my aunt stooped down and took Nap in her arms, soiling herhandsome silk dress a good deal with the dog's dirty feet. Then shewalked away saying endearing things to Nap, who only whined andstruggled to get away in the most ungrateful fashion; while my uncletook off his glasses, drew a long breath, and said as he wiped his facewith his red silk handkerchief:

"I was afraid she was going to be very cross, my boy. She's such a goodwoman, your dear aunt, my boy, and I'm very proud of her; but she doesupset me so when she is cross. "

"I was all of a fidge, uncle, " I said laughing. 

"So was I, Nat, so was I. But don't laugh, my boy. It is too serious athing for smiles. It always puts me in such a dreadful perspiration, Nat, for I don't like to be angry too. Never be angry with a woman whenyou grow up, Nat, my boy; women, you see, belong to the weaker sex. "

"Yes, uncle, " I said wonderingly; and then he began to beam and smileagain, and rubbed his hands together softly as he looked at our work. 

"But you will have to put Polly together again, Nat, " he said at last. 

"Put her together again, uncle!" I said in dismay. "Why, it's likeHumpty Dumpty sat on a wall--all the king's horses and all the king'smen--"

"Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again, " said my uncle quiteseriously. "But we must put Polly together again, Natty. There's youraunt, you know. "

"Yes, uncle, there's Aunt Sophia, " I said ruefully; "but the feathersare all out of the skin, and the skin's all in pieces. I'm afraid shewill never look decent, try how I may. "

My uncle rubbed his head softly. 

"It does look as if it would be a terrible job, Nat, " he said; "but itmust be done, and I'm afraid if you made her look as well as she didwhen we found her, your aunt wouldn't be satisfied. "

"I'm sure I couldn't make her look as well as she did then, uncle, " Ireplied despairingly; "but I'll try. "

"Yes, do, my boy. That's right, try. And look here, Nat--I'll helpyou. "

I was very glad to hear Uncle Joseph say that, though I did not think hewould be able to help me much; and so as to lose no time we began atonce to think the matter out, and uncle said _yes_ to all I proposed todo, which was his idea of helping me; for he said I drove in the nailsand he clinched them. 

After a bit of thinking I came to the conclusion that I have sincelearned was the very best one I could have arrived at, that the properthing to do was to fix on Polly's wire legs as neatly made a body as Icould, and then to stick the feathers all over it in their properplaces. But then what was the body to be made of? Clay or putty couldbe easily moulded into shape, but they would be too heavy. Papier-machewould have been the thing, but I did not know how to make it, so at lastI decided to cut out a body from a piece of wood. 

"The very thing, Nat, " said my uncle. "Stop a minute, my boy, till I'velit my pipe, and then we'll begin. "

I waited till my uncle said he was ready, and then we did begin, that isto say, he went on smoking while I sawed off a piece of wood that Ithought would do. 

I need not tell you all about that task; how laboriously I carved awayday after day at that piece of wood with my pocket-knife, breaking onein the work; how I mounted the piece of wood at last on wires, and thenproceeded, by the help of a little glue-pot that my uncle bought onpurpose, to stick Polly's feathers on again. By the way, I think Ifastened on her wings with tin tacks. It was a very, very long job; butat every stage my uncle sat and expressed his approval, and every sparehour was spent in the tool-house, where I patiently worked away. 

I grew very tired of my task, but felt that I must finish it, and I haveoften thought since what a splendid lesson it proved. 

And so I worked on and on, sticking little patches of skin here, feathers there, and I am afraid making such blunders as would havedriven a naturalist frantic, for I am sure that patches of feathers thatbelonged to the breast were stuck on the back, and smooth back feathersornamented Polly's breast. The head was tolerably complete, so that wasallowed to hang on the nail in the wall, where it seemed to watch theprocess of putting together again; but the tail was terrible, and oftenmade me feel ready to give up in despair. 

But here my uncle really did help me, for when ever he saw me out ofheart and tired he used to say:

"Suppose we give up now for a bit, Nat, and have a run. "

Then when the time came for another try at Polly we used to laugh andsay that we would have another turn at Humpty Dumpty. 

At last--and I don't know how long it took--the time had come whenPolly's head was to cease from staring down in a ghastly one-eyed way ather body, and it was to come down and crown the edifice. 

I remember it so well. It was a bright, sunny half-holiday, when I waslonging to be off fishing, but with Humpty Dumpty incomplete there wasno fishing for me, especially as Aunt Sophia had been asking how soonher pet was to be finished. 

"Come along, Nat, " said Uncle Joseph, "and we'll soon finish it. "

I smiled rather sadly, for I did not feel at all sanguine. I made theglue-pot hot, however, and set to work, rearranging a patch or two offeathers that looked very bad, and then I stared at uncle and he gazedat me. 

I believe we both had some kind of an idea that the sort of feathertippet that hung from Polly's head would act as a cloak to hide all theimperfections that were so plain. Certainly some such hopeful idea wasin my brain, though I did not feel sanguine. 

"Now then, my boy, now then, " cried my uncle, as at last I took Polly'shead from the nail, and he rubbed his hands with excitement. "We shalldo it at last. "

I fancy I can smell the hot steaming glue now as I went about that day'swork, for I kept on stirring it up and thinking how much I ought to putin the bird's neck and upon its skull to keep from soiling and makingsticky all its feathers. It took some consideration, and all the whiledear Uncle Joe watched me as attentively as if I were going to performsome wonderful operation. He even held his breath as I began to gluethe head, and uttered a low sigh of relief as I replaced the brush inthe pot. 

Then as carefully as I could I fixed the head in its place, securing itthe more tightly by driving a long thin stocking-needle right throughthe skull into the wood. 

And there it was, the result of a month's spare time and labour, and Idrew back to contemplate this effort of genius. 

I can laugh now as I picture the whole scene. The rough bench on whichstood the bird, the wall on which hung the garden tools, Uncle Joe withhis pipe in one hand, his other resting upon his knee as he sat upon anupturned tub gazing straight at me, and I seem to see my own boyish selfgazing at my task till I utterly broke down with the misery and vexationof my spirit, laying my head upon my arms and crying like a girl. 

For a few minutes Uncle Joe was so taken aback that he sat therebreathing hard and staring at me. 

"Why, Nat--Nat, my boy, " he said at last, as he got down off the tub andstood there patting my shoulders. "What is the matter, my boy; are youpoorly?"

"No--no--no, " I sobbed. "It's horrid, horrid, horrid!"

"What's horrid, Natty?" he said. 

"That dreadful bird. Oh, uncle, " I cried passionately, "I knew Icouldn't do it when I began. "

"The bird? What! Humpty Dumpty? What! Polly? Why, my boy, she'ssplendid, and your aunt will be so--"

"She's not, " I cried, flashing into passion. "She isn't like a bird atall. I know how soft and rounded and smooth birds are; and did you eversee such a horrid thing as that? It's a beast, uncle! It's a regularguy! It's a--oh, oh!"

In my rage of disappointment at the miserable result of so much hardwork I tore the lump of feathered wood from the bench, dashed it uponthe ground, and stamped upon it. Then my passion seemed to flash awayas quickly as it had come, and I stood staring at Uncle Joe and UncleJoe stared at me. 

CHAPTER SIX. 

A PIECE OF DECEIT THAT WAS NOT CARRIED OUT. 

For a few minutes neither of us spoke. Uncle Joe seemed to be astoundedand completely taken off his balance. He put on his glasses and tookthem off over and over again. He laid down his pipe and rubbed hishands first and then his face with his crimson silk handkerchief, endingby taking off his glasses and rolling them in the handkerchief, flippingthem afterwards under the bench all amongst the broken flower-pots. Andall the time I felt a prey to the bitterest remorse, and as if I haddone something so wicked that I could never be forgiven again. 

"Oh, uncle! dear Uncle Joe, " I cried passionately. "I am so--so sorry. "

"Sorry, Nat!" he said, taking my outstretched hands, and then drawing meto his breast, holding me there and patting my back with both his hands. "Sorry, Nat! yes, that's what I felt, my boy. It was such a pity, youknow. "

"Oh, no, Uncle Joe, " I cried, looking down at my work. "It washorrible, and I've been more ashamed of it every day. "

"Have you, Nat, my boy?" he said. "Oh, yes, uncle, but I kept on hopingthat--that somehow--somehow it would come better. "

"That's what I've been hoping, my boy, " he said, "for you did try veryhard. "

"Yes, uncle, I tried very, very hard, but it never did come better. "

"No, my boy, you are quite right; it never did come any better, but Ihoped it would when you put on its head. "

"So did I, uncle, but it only seemed to make it look more ridiculous, and it wasn't a bit like a bird. "

"No, my boy, it wasn't a bit like a bird, " he said weakly. 

"Then why did you say it was capital, uncle?" I cried sharply. 

"Well, my boy, because--because I--that is--I wanted to encourage you, and, " he cried more confidently, "it was capital for you. "

"Oh, Uncle Joe, it was disgraceful, and I don't know what aunt wouldhave said. "

"I don't know what she will say now, " said my uncle ruefully, as hegazed down at Humpty Dumpty's wreck, where it lay crushed into the dust. "I'm afraid she'll be very cross. You see I half told her that itwould be done to-day, and I'm afraid--"

"Oh, uncle, why did you tell her that?" I said reproachfully. 

"Well, my boy, you see she had been remonstrating a little about ourbeing out here so much, and I'm afraid I have been preparing her for asurprise. "

"And now she'll be more cross than ever, uncle, " I said, picking up thebird. 

"Yes, my boy, now she'll be more cross than ever. It's a very bad job, Nat, and I don't like to see you show such a temper as that. "

"I'm very sorry, Uncle Joe, " I said humbly. "I didn't mean to fly outlike that. It's just like Jem Boxhead at our school. "

"Does he fly out into tempers like that, Nat?"

"Yes, uncle, _often_. "

"It's a very bad job, my boy, and I never saw anything of the kindbefore in you. It isn't a disease, temper isn't, or I should think youhad caught it. You couldn't catch a bad temper, you know, my boy. Butdon't you think, Natty, we might still manage to put Humpty Dumptytogether again?"

"No, uncle, " I said, "it's impossible;" and I know now that it was animpossibility from the first, for my hours of experience have taught methat I had engaged upon a hopeless task. 

He took out his crimson handkerchief, and reseating himself upon the tubbegan wiping his face and hands once more. 

"You've made me very hot, Natty, " he said. "What is to be done?"

"I don't know, uncle, " I said dolefully. "But are you very cross withme?"

"Cross, my boy? No. I was only thinking how much you are like my poorsister, your dear mother, who would go into a temper like that sometimeswhen we were boy and girl. "

"Please, uncle, " I said, laying my hand upon his arm, "I'll try veryhard not to go into a temper again like that. "

"Yes, yes, do, my boy, " he said, taking my hand in his and speaking veryaffectionately. "Don't give way to temper, my boy, it's a bad habit. But I'm not sorry, Nat, I'm not a bit sorry, my dear boy, to see thatyou've got some spirit in you like your poor mother. She was sodifferent to me, Nat. I never had a bit of spirit, and people havealways done as they pleased with me. "

I could not help thinking about my aunt just then, but I said nothing, and it was Uncle Joe who began again about the parrot. 

"So you think we could not put Humpty Dumpty together again, Nat?"

"No, uncle, " I said despairingly, "I'm sure we could not. It's all somuch lost time. "

"There's plenty more time to use, Nat, for some things, " he saiddreamily, "but not for doing our work, and--and, my boy, after your aunthas let us be out here so much, I'm afraid that I dare not tell her ofour failure. "

"Then what's to be done, uncle?" I said. 

"I'm afraid, my boy, we must be very wicked and deceitful. "

"Deceitful, uncle?"

"Yes, my boy, or your aunt will never forgive us. "

"Why, what do you mean, uncle?" I said. 

"I've been thinking, my boy, that I might go out somewhere and buy agrey parrot--one already stuffed. I dare not face her without. "

I felt puzzled, and with a strong belief upon me that we were going todo a very foolish thing. 

"Wouldn't it be better to go and tell Aunt Sophia frankly that we havehad an accident, and spoiled the parrot, uncle?"

"Yes, my boy, much better, " he said, "very much better; but--but I darenot do it, Nat, I dare not do it. "

I felt as if I should like to say, "I'll do it, uncle, " but I, too, shrank from the task, and we were saved from the underhanded proceedingby the appearance of my aunt at the tool-house door. 

My unfortunate attempt at restuffing poor Polly made me less a favouritethan ever with Aunt Sophia, who never let a day pass without making someunpleasant allusion to my condition there. My uncle assured me that Iwas in no wise dependent upon them, for my mother's money gave ampleinterest for my education and board, but Aunt Sophia always seemed toignore that fact, so that but for Uncle Joe's kindness I should havebeen miserable indeed. 

The time slipped away, and I had grown to be a tall strong boy offifteen; and in spite of my aunt's constant fault-finding I receivedsufficient encouragement from Uncle Joe to go on with my natural historypursuits, collecting butterflies and beetles, birds' eggs in the spring, and stuffing as many birds as I could obtain. 

Some of these latter were very roughly done, but I had so natural a lovefor the various objects of nature, that I find the birds I did in thosedays, rough as they were, had a very lifelike appearance. I had only toask my uncle for money to buy books or specimens and it was forthcoming, and so I went on arranging and rearranging, making a neatly writtencatalogue of my little museum in the tool-house, and always helped byUncle Joe's encouragement. 

I suppose I was a strange boy, seeking the companionship of myschool-fellows but very little, after my aunt had refused to let any ofthem visit me, or to let me go to their homes. I was driven thus, as itwere, upon my own resources, and somehow I did not find mine to be anunhappy life; in fact so pleasant did it seem that when the time camefor me to give it up I was very sorry to leave it, and felt ready tosettle down to aunt's constant fault-finding for the sake of deartender-hearted old Uncle Joe, who was broken completely in spirit at myhaving to go. 

"But it's right, Nat, my boy, quite right, " he said, "and you would onlybe spoiled if you stayed on here. It is time now that you began tothink of growing to be a man, and I hope and pray that you'll grow intoone of whom I can be proud. "

CHAPTER SEVEN. 

THE RETURN OF THE WANDERER. 

One day when I came home from school I was surprised to find a tall darkgentleman in the drawing-room with my uncle and aunt. He was so darkthat he looked to me at first to be a foreigner, and his dark keen eyesand long black beard all grizzled with white hairs made him so verydifferent to Uncle Joseph that I could not help comparing one with theother. 

"This is Master Nathaniel, I suppose, " said the stranger in a quicksharp way, just as if he was accustomed to order people about. 

"Yes, that's Joseph's nephew, " said my aunt tartly, "and a nice boy heis. "

"You mean a nasty one, " I said to myself, as I coloured up, "but youneedn't have told a stranger. "

"Yes, " said Uncle Joseph, "he is a very nice boy, Richard, and I'm veryproud of him. "

My aunt gave a very loud sniff. 

"Suppose we shake hands then, Nathaniel, " said the stranger, whom Iimmediately guessed to be my Aunt Sophia's brother Richard, who was alearned man and a doctor, I had heard. 

He seemed to order me to shake hands with him, and I went up and heldout mine, gazing full in his dark eyes, and wondering how much he knew. 

"Well done, youngster, " he said, giving my hand a squeeze that hurt meever so, but I would not flinch. "I like to see a boy able to look onefull in the face. "

"Oh! he has impudence enough for anything, " said my aunt. 

"Oh! has he?" said our visitor smiling. "Well, I would rather see a boyimpudent than a milksop. "

"Nat was never impudent to me, " said my uncle, speaking up for me in away that made my aunt stare. 

"I see--I see, " said our visitor. "You never were fond of boys, Sophy. "

"No, indeed, " said my aunt. 

"Cats and dogs were always more in your way, " said our visitor. "Getout!"

This was to Nap, who had been smelling about him for some time, and hegave him so rough a kick that the dog yelped out, and in a moment thetemper that I had promised my uncle to keep under flashed forth again, as I caught at Nap to protect him, and flushing scarlet--

"Don't kick our dog, " I said sharply. 

I've often thought since that my aunt ought to have been pleased with mefor taking the part of my old friend and her favourite, but she turnedupon me quickly. 

"Leave the room, sir, directly. How dare you!" she cried. "To dare tospeak to a visitor like that!" and I had to go out in disgrace, but as Iclosed the door I saw our visitor laughing and showing his white teeth. 

"I shall hate him, " I said to myself, as I put my hands in my pocketsand began to wander up and down the garden; but I had hardly gone to andfro half a dozen times before I heard voices, and I was about to creepround by the side path and get indoors out of the way when Mr RichardBurnett caught sight of me, and shouted to me to come. 

I went up looking hurt and ill-used as he was coming down the path withUncle Joe; but he clapped me on the shoulder, swung me round, andkeeping his arm half round my neck, walked me up and down with them, andI listened as he kept on telling Uncle Joseph about where he had been. 

"Five years in South America, wandering about away from civilisation, isa long time, Joe; but I shall soon be off again. "

I pricked up my ears. 

"Back to South America, Dick?"

"No, my dear boy, I shall go in another direction this time. "

"Where shall you go this time, sir?" I said eagerly. 

"Eh? where shall I go, squire?" he said sharply. "Right away to Borneoand New Guinea, wherever I am likely to collect specimens and find newvarieties. "

"Do you collect, sir?" I said excitedly. 

"To be sure I do, my boy. Do you?" he added with a smile. 

"Yes, sir, all I can. "

"Oh yes! he has quite a wonderful collection down in the tool-house, Richard. Come and see. "

Our visitor smiled in such a contemptuous way that I coloured up again, and felt as if I should have liked to cry, "You sha'n't see them to makefun of my work. " But by that time we were at the tool-house door, andjust inside was my cabinet full of drawers that uncle had let thecarpenter make for me, and my cases and boxes, and the birds I hadstuffed. In fact by that time, after a couple of years collecting, thetools had been ousted to hang in another shed, and the tool-house waspretty well taken up with my lumber. 

"Why, hallo!" cried our visitor; "who stuffed those birds?"

I answered modestly enough that it was I. 

"And what's in these drawers, eh?" he said, pulling them out sharply oneafter the other, and then opening my cases. 

"Nat's collections, " said my uncle very proudly. "Here's hiscatalogue. "

"Neatly written out--numbered--Latin names, " he said, half to himself. "Why, hallo, young fellow, I don't wonder that your Aunt Sophia says youare a bad character. "

"But he isn't, Dick, " said Uncle Joe warmly; "he's a very good lad, andSophy don't mean what she says. "

"She used to tell me I should come to no good in the old days when Ibegan to make a mess at home, Joe, " he said merrily. "Why, Nat, my boy, you and I must be good friends. You would like to come and see mycollection, eh?"

"Will you--will you show it to me, sir?" I said, catching him in myexcitement by the sleeve. 

"Well, I don't know, " he said drily; "you looked daggers at me because Ikicked your aunt's pet. "

"I couldn't help it, sir, " I said; "Nap has always been such goodfriends with me that I didn't like to see him hurt. "

"Then I beg Nap's pardon, " he said smiling. "I thought he was only auseless pet; but if he can be a good friend to you he is a better dogthan I thought for. "

"He'd be a splendid dog to hunt with, sir, if he had a chance. "

"Would he? Well, I'm glad of it, and you shall come and see mycollection, and help me catalogue and arrange them if you like. Here, hi! stop a minute: where are you going?"

"Only to fetch my cap, sir, " I said excitedly, for the idea of seeingthe collections of a man who had been five years in South America seemedto set me on fire. 

"Plenty of time yet, my boy, " he said, showing white teeth in a pleasantsmile; "they are in the docks at Southampton, on board ship. Wait abit, and you shall see all. "

CHAPTER EIGHT. 

I FIND MYSELF A BROTHER NATURALIST. 

I stood looking very hard at our visitor, Doctor Burnett, and thoughthow very different he was to Aunt Sophia. Only a little while before, Ihad felt as if I must hate him for behaving so badly to Nap, and fortalking to me in such a cold, contemptuous way. It had seemed as if hewould join with Aunt Sophia in making me uncomfortable, and I thought itwould have been so much pleasanter if he had stayed away. 

But now, as I stood watching him, he was becoming quite a hero in myeyes, for not only had he been abroad seeing the wonders of the world, but he had suddenly shown a liking for me, and his whole manner waschanged. 

When he had spoken to me in the house it had been in a pooh-poohing sortof fashion, as if I were a stupid troublesome boy, very much in the way, and as if he wondered at his sister and brother-in-law's keeping me uponthe premises; but now the change was wonderful. The cold distant mannerhad gone, and he began to talk to me as if he had known me all my life. 

"Shall we go round the garden again, Dick?" said my uncle, afterstanding there nodding and smiling at me, evidently feeling very proudthat his brother-in-law should take so much notice of the collection. 

"No, " said our visitor sharply. "There, get your pipe, Joe, and you cansit down and look on while I go over Nat's collection. We naturalistsalways compare notes--eh, Nat?"

I turned scarlet with excitement and pleasure, while Uncle Joseph rubbedhis hands, beaming with satisfaction, and proceeded to take down hislong clay pipe from where it hung upon two nails in the wall, and hislittle tobacco jar from a niche below the rafters. 

"That's what I often do here, Dick, " he said; "I sit and smoke and giveadvice--when it is asked, and Nat goes on with his stuffing andpreserving. "

"Then now, you may sit down and give advice--when it is asked, " said ourvisitor smiling, "while Nat and I compare notes. Who taught you how tostuff birds, Nat?"

"I--I taught myself, sir, " I replied. 

"Taught yourself?" he said, pinching one of my birds--a starling that Ihad bought for a penny of a man with a gun. 

"Yes, sir; I pulled Polly to pieces. "

"You did what?" he cried, bursting into a roar of laughter. "Why, whowas Polly--one of the maids?"

"Oh no, sir! Aunt Sophy's stuffed parrot. "

"Well, really, Nat, " he said, laughing most heartily, "you're thestrangest boy I ever met. "

"Am I, sir?" I said, feeling a little chilled again, for he seemed tobe laughing unpleasantly at me. 

"That you are, Nat; but I like strange boys. So you pulled Polly topieces, eh? And found out where the naturalists put the wires, eh?"

"Yes, sir. "

"And how do you preserve the skins?"

"With arsenical soap, sir. "

"That's right; so do I. "

"But it's very dangerous stuff, sir, " I said eagerly. 

"Not if it is properly used, my boy, " he said, taking up bird after birdand examining it carefully. "A fire is a very dangerous thing if youthrust your hand into it, and Uncle Joe's razors are dangerous things ifthey are not properly used. You see I don't trouble them much, " headded smiling. 

"No, indeed, sir, " I said, as I glanced at his long beard. 

"I don't have hot water for shaving brought to me, Nat, when I'm at sea, my boy, or out in the jungle. It's rough work there. "

"But it must be very nice, sir, " I said eagerly. 

"Very, my boy, when you lie down to sleep beneath a tree, so hungry thatyou could eat your boots, and not knowing whether the enemy that attacksyou before morning will be a wild beast, a poisonous serpent, or adeadly fever. "

"But it must be very exciting, sir, " I cried. 

"Very, my boy, " he said drily. "Yes: that bird's rough, but I like theshape. There's nature in it--at least as much as you can get byimitation. Look, Joe, there's a soft roundness about that bird. Itlooks alive. Some of our best bird-stuffers have no more notion of whata bird is like in real life than a baby. What made you put that tomtitin that position, Nat?" he said, turning sharply to me. 

"That?--that's how they hang by the legs when they are picking the buds, sir, " I said nervously, for I was quite startled by his quick, suddenway. 

"To be sure it is, Nat, my boy. That's quite right. Always take natureas your model, and imitate her as closely as you can. Some of thestuffed birds at the British Museum used to drive me into a rage. Gladto see you have the true ring in you, my boy. "

I hardly knew what he meant by the "true ring", but it was evidentlymeant kindly, and I felt hotter than ever; but my spirits rose as I sawhow pleased Uncle Joe was. 

"You can stuff birds, then, sir?" I said, after a pause, during whichour visitor made himself very busy examining everything I had. 

"Well, yes, Nat, after a fashion. I'm not clever at it, for I neverpractise mounting. I can make skins. "

"Make skins, sir?"

"Yes, my boy. Don't you see that when I am in some wild place shootingand collecting, every scrap of luggage becomes a burden. "

"Yes, sir; of course, " I said, nodding my head sagely, "especially ifthe roads are not good. "

"Roads, my boy, " he said laughing; "the rivers and streams are the onlyroads in such places as I travel through. Then, of course, I can't usewires and tow to distend my birds, so we make what we call skins. Thatis to say, after preparing the skin, all that is done is to tie the longbones together, and fill the bird out with some kind of wild cotton, press the head back on the body by means of a tiny paper cone orsugar-paper, put a band round the wings, and dry the skin in the sun. "

"Yes, I know, sir, " I cried eagerly; "and you pin the paper round thebird with a tiny bamboo skewer, and put another piece of bamboo throughfrom head to tail. "

"Why, how do you know?" he said wonderingly. 

"Oh! Nat knows a deal, " said Uncle Joe, chuckling. "We're not suchstupid people as you think, Dick, even if we do stay at home. "

"I've got a skin or two, sir, " I said, "and they were made like that. "

As I spoke I took the two skins out of an old cigar-box. 

"Oh! I see, " he said, as he took them very gently and smoothed theirfeathers with the greatest care. "Where did you get these, Nat?"

"I bought them with my pocket-money in Oxford Street, sir, " I said, asUncle Joe, who had not before seen them, leaned forward. 

"And do you know what they are, my boy?" said our visitor. 

"No, sir; I have no books with pictures of them in, and the man who soldthem to me did not know. Can you tell me, sir?"

"Yes, Nat, I think so, " he said quietly. "This pretty dark bird withthe black and white and crimson plumage is the rain-bird--theblue-billed gaper; and this softly-feathered fellow with the bristles atthe side of his bill is a trogon. "

"A trogon, sir?"

"Yes, Nat, a trogon; and these little bamboo skewers tell me directlythat the birds came from somewhere in the East. "

I looked at him wonderingly. 

"Yes, Nat, " he continued, "from the East, where the bamboo is used forendless purposes. It is hard, and will bear a sharp point, and is soabundant that the people seem to have no end to the use they make ofit. "

"And have you seen birds like these alive, sir?"

"No, Nat, but I hope to do so before long. That blue-billed gaperprobably came from Malacca, and the trogon too. See how beautifully itswings are pencilled, and how the bright cinnamon of its back featherscontrasts with the bright crimson of its breast. We have plenty oftrogons out in the West; some of them most gorgeous fellows, with tailsa yard long, and of the most resplendent golden metallic green. "

"And humming-birds, sir?"

"Thousands, my boy; all darting through the air like living gems. Thespecimens brought home are very beautiful, but they are as nothingcompared to those fairy-like little creatures, full of life and action, with the sun flashing from their plumage. "

"And are there humming-birds, sir, in the East?" I cried, feeling mymouth grow dry with excitement and interest. 

"No, my boy; but there is a tribe of tiny birds there that we know assun-birds, almost as beautiful in their plumage, and of very similarhabit. I hope to make a long study of their ways, and to get a goodcollection. I know nothing, however, more attractive to a man who lovesnature than to lie down beneath some great plant of convolvulus, or anytrumpet-shaped blossom, and watch the humming-birds flashing to and froin the sunlight. Their scale-like feathers on throat and head reflectthe sun rays like so many gems, and their colours are the most gorgeousthat it is possible to conceive. But there, I tire you. Why, Joe, yourpipe's out!"

"Please go on, sir, " I said in a hoarse whisper, for, as he spoke, Ifelt myself far away in some wondrous foreign land, lying beneath thetrumpet-flowered tree or plant, gazing at the brilliant little creatureshe described. 

"Do you like to hear of such things, then?" he said smiling. 

"Oh! so much, sir!" I cried; and he went on. 

"I believe some of them capture insects at certain times, but as a rulethese lovely little birds live upon the honey they suck from thenectaries of these trumpet-shaped blossoms; and their bills are long andthin so that they can reach right to the end. Some of these littlecreatures make quite a humming noise with their wings, and after dartinghere and there like a large fly they will seem to stop midway in theair, apparently motionless, but with their wings all the while beatingso fast that they are almost invisible. Sometimes one will stop likethis just in front of some beautiful flower, and you may see it hangsuspended in the air, while it thrusts in its long bill and drinks thesweet honey that forms its food. "

"And can you shoot such little things, sir?" I asked. 

"Oh, yes, my boy; it is easy enough to shoot them, " he replied. "Thedifficulty is to bring them down without hurting their plumage, which isextremely delicate. The Indians shoot them with a blow-pipe and pelletsand get very good specimens; but then one is not always with theIndians; and in those hot climates a bird must be skinned directly, so Igenerally trust to myself and get my own specimens. "

"With a blow-pipe, sir?"

"No, Nat; I have tried, but I never got to be very clever with it. Onewants to begin young to manage a blow-pipe well. I always shot myhumming-birds with a gun. "

"And shot, sir?"

"Not always, Nat. I have brought them down with the disturbance of theair or the wad of the gun. At other times I have used sand, or inplaces where I had no sand I have used water. "

"Water!" I exclaimed. 

"Yes, and very good it is for the purpose, Nat. A little poured intothe barrel of the gun after the powder is made safe with a couple ofwads, is driven out in a fine cutting spray, which has secured me many alovely specimen with its plumage unhurt. "

"But don't it seem rather cruel to shoot such lovely creatures, Dick?"said Uncle Joe in an apologetic tone. 

"Well, yes, it has struck me in that light before now, " said ourvisitor; "but as I am working entirely with scientific views, and forthe spread of the knowledge of the beautiful occupants of this world, Ido not see the harm. Besides, I never wantonly destroy life. And then, look here, my clear Joe, if you come to think out these things you willfind that almost invariably the bird or animal you kill has passed itslife in killing other things upon which it lives. "

"Ye-es, " said Uncle Joe, "I suppose it has. "

"You wouldn't like to shoot a blackbird, perhaps?"

"Well, I don't know, " said Uncle Joe. "They are the wickedest thievesthat ever entered a garden; aren't they, Nat?"

"Yes, uncle, they are a nuisance, " I said. 

"Well, suppose you killed a blackbird, Joe, " continued our visitor; "hehas spent half his time in killing slugs and snails, and lugging poorunfortunate worms out of their holes; and it seems to me that the slugor the worm is just as likely to enjoy its life as the greedy blackbird, whom people protect because he has an orange bill and sings sweetly inthe spring. "

"Ye-es, " said my uncle, looking all the while as if he were terriblypuzzled, while I sat drinking in every word our visitor said, feelingthat I had never before heard any one talk like that. 

"For my part, " continued our visitor, "I never destroy life wantonly;and as for you, young man, you may take this for a piece of goodadvice--never kill for the sake of killing. Let it be a work ofnecessity--for food, for a specimen, for your own protection, but neverfor sport. I don't like the word, Nat; there is too much cruelty inwhat is called sport. "

"But wouldn't you kill lions and tigers, sir?" I said. 

"Most decidedly, my boy. That is the struggle for life. I'd soonerkill a thousand tigers, Nat, than one should kill me, " he said laughing;"and for my part--"

"Joseph, I'm ashamed of you. Nathaniel, this is your doing, you naughtyboy, " cried my aunt, appearing at the door. "It is really disgraceful, Joseph, that you will come here to sit and smoke; and as for you, Nathaniel, what do you mean, sir, by dragging your un--, I mean avisitor, down into this nasty, untidy place, and pestering him with yourrubbish?"

"Oh, it was not Nathaniel's doing, Sophy, " said our visitor smiling, ashe rose and drew aunt's arm through his, "but mine; I've been making theboy show me his treasures. There, come along and you and I will have agood long chat now. Nat, my boy, I sha'n't forget what we said. "

CHAPTER NINE. 

UNCLE DICK'S BOXES. 

"I'm afraid we've made your aunt very cross, Nat, my boy, " said UncleJoe, rubbing his hands softly, and looking perplexed and troubled. "Doyou think, Nat, that I have been leading you wrong?"

"I hope not, uncle, " I said, "and I don't think so, for it has been verynice out here in the toolshed, and we have enjoyed ourselves so. "

"Yes, my boy, we have, very much, indeed, but I'm afraid your aunt neverforgave us for not putting Humpty Dumpty together again. "

"But, uncle, " I said, "isn't it unreasonable of Aunt Sophia to expect usto do what all the king's horses and all the king's men could not do?"

He looked at me for a few minutes without speaking, and then he began tosmile very slightly, then a little more and a little more, till, insteadof looking dreadfully serious, his face was as happy as it could be. Then he began to laugh very heartily, and I laughed too, till the tearswere in our eyes. 

"Of--of course it was, Nat, " he cried, chuckling and coughing together. "We couldn't do what all the king's horses and all the king's men didn'tmanage, Nat, and--yes, my dear, we're coming. "

Uncle Joe jumped up and went out of the tool-house, for my aunt's voicecould be heard telling us to come in. 

"Hush!" he whispered, with a finger on his lips. "Make haste in, Nat, and run up to your room and wash your hands. "

I followed him in, and somehow, whenever Doctor Burnett was in the room, my aunt did not seem so cross, especially as her brother took a gooddeal of notice of me, and kept on asking me questions. 

I soon found, to my great delight, that he was going to stay with ustill he started for Singapore, a place whose name somehow set methinking about Chinese people and Indian rajahs, but that was all; therest was to me one great mystery, and I used to lie in bed of a nightand wonder what sort of a place it could be. 

Every day our visitor grew less cool and distant in his ways, and atlast my aunt said pettishly:

"Well, really, Richard, it is too bad; this is the third morning thisweek you have kept that boy away from school by saying you wanted him. How do you expect his education to get on?"

"Get on?" said Doctor Burnett; "why, my dear sister, he is learning thewhole time he is with me; I'll be bound to say that he has picked upmore geography since he has been with me than he has all the time he hasbeen to school. "

"I don't know so much about that, " said my aunt snappishly. 

"Then I do, " he said. "Let the boy alone, he is learning a great deal;and I shall want him more this next week. "

"You'd better take him away from school altogether, " said my auntangrily. 

"Well, yes, " said the doctor quietly; "as it is so near his holidays, hemay as well stop away the rest of this half. "

"Richard!" cried my aunt as I sat there pinching my legs to keep fromlooking pleased. 

"He will have to work hard at helping me with my collections, which areon the way here, I find, from a letter received this morning. Therewill be a great deal of copying and labelling, and that will improve hiswriting, though he does write a fair round hand. "

"But it will be neglecting his other studies, " cried my aunt. 

"But then he will be picking up a good deal of Latin, for I shallexplain to him the meaning of the words as he writes them, and, besides, telling him as much as I know of natural history and my travels. "

"And what is to become of the boy then?" cried my aunt. "I will nothave him turn idler, Richard. "

"Well, if you think I have turned idler, Sophy, " he said laughing, andshowing his white teeth, "all I can say is, that idling over naturalhistory and travelling is very hard work. "

"But the boy must not run wild as--"

"I did? There, say it out, Sophy, " said her brother. "I don't mind, mydear; some people look upon everything they do not understand asidling. "

"I think I understand what is good for that boy, " said my aunt shortly. 

"Of course you do, " said the doctor, "and you think it will do him goodto help me a bit, Sophy. Come along, Nat, my boy, we are to have theback-room for the chests, so we must make ready, for they will be hereto-morrow. "

"Oh, Doctor Burnett, " I cried as soon as we were alone. 

"Suppose you call me Uncle Richard for the future, my boy, " he said. "By and by, when we get to know each other better, it will be UncleDick. Why not at once, eh?"

"I--I shouldn't like to call you that, sir, " I said. 

"Why not?"

"I--I hardly know, sir, only that you seem so clever and to know somuch. "

"Then it shall be Uncle Dick at once, " he said, laughing merrily; "forevery day that you are with me, Nat, you will be finding out more andmore that I am not so clever as you think. "

So from that day it was always Uncle Dick, and as soon as the greatchests arrived we set to work. 

I shall never forget those great rough boxes made of foreign wood, northe intense interest with which I watched them as they were carried inupon the backs of the stout railway vanmen and set carefully in thelarge back-room. 

There were twenty of them altogether, and some were piled upon theothers as if they were building stones, till at last the men's book hadbeen signed, the money paid for carriage, and Uncle Joe, Uncle Dick, andI sat there alone staring at the chests and wondering at theirappearance. 

For they were battered, and bruised, and chipped away in splinters, sothat they looked very old indeed, though, as my uncle told me, there wasnot one there more than five years old, though they might have beenfifty. 

Every one had painted upon it in large white letters:

"Dr Burnett, FZS, London, " and I wondered what FZS might mean. Then Inoticed that the chests were all numbered, and I was longing intenselyfor them to be opened, when Uncle Dick, as I suppose I must call himnow, made me start by crying out:

"Screw-driver!"

I jumped up and ran to Uncle Joe's tool-box for the big screw-driver, and was back with it in a very short time, Uncle Dick laughing heartilyas he saw my excitement. 

"Thank you, Nat, that will do, " he said. "It will be nice and handy forme to-morrow morning. "

"Ha--ha--ha!" he laughed directly after, as he saw my blank disappointedface. "Did you think I was going to open the cases to-day, Nat?"

"I did hope so, sir, " I said stoutly. 

"Then I will, " he cried, "for your being so frank. Now then, whichshall it be?"

"I should begin with number one, sir, " I said. 

"And so we will, Nat. Nothing like order. Look here, my boy. Here ismy book for cataloguing. "

He showed me a large blank book ruled with lines, and on turning it overI found headings here and there under which the different specimens wereto be placed. 

But I could not look much at the book while "our great traveller", asUncle Joe used to call him to me, was busy at work with thescrew-driver, taking out the great screws, one after another, and layingthem in a box. 

"Now, Nat, " he said, "suppose after going through all my trouble I findthat half my specimens are destroyed, what shall I do?"

"I don't know, uncle, " I said. "I know what I should do. "

"What, my boy?"

"Go and try and find some more. "

"A good plan, " he said laughing; "and when it means journeying ten ortwelve thousand miles, my boy, to seek for more, it becomes a serioustask. "

All this while he was working away at the screws, till they were halfout and loose enough for me to go on turning them with my fingers, andthis, after the first two or three, I did till we came to the last, whenmy uncle stopped and pretended that it was in so tight that it would notturn. 

"Let me try, uncle, " I cried. 

"You? Nonsense! boy. There, I think we shall have to give up forto-day. "

He burst out laughing the next moment at my doleful face, gave the screwa few rapid twists; and in a few more moments it was out, and he tookhold of the lid. 

"Ready?" he exclaimed. 

"Yes, quite ready, " said Uncle Joe, who was nearly as much excited as Iwas myself; and then the lid was lifted and we eagerly looked inside. 

There was not much to see, only what looked like another lid, held inits place by a few stout nails. These were soon drawn out though, thesecond lid lifted, and still there was nothing to see but cotton-wool, which, however, sent out a curious spicy smell, hot and peppery, andmixed with camphor. 

Then the treat began, for Uncle Dick removed a few layers ofcotton-wool, and there were the birds lying closely packed, and sobeautiful in plumage that we--that is, Uncle Joe and I--uttered a cry ofdelight. 

I had never before seen anything so beautiful, I thought, as thegorgeous colours of the birds before me, or they seemed to be so freshand bright and different to anything I had seen in the museum, UncleDick having taken care, as I afterwards found, to reject any but themost perfect skins; and these were before me ready to be taken out andlaid carefully upon some boards he had prepared for the purpose, and asI helped him I kept on asking questions till some people would have beenanswered out. Uncle Dick, however, encouraged me to go on questioninghim, and I quickly picked up the names of a good many of the birds. 

Now it would be a magnificent macaw all blue and scarlet. Then along-tailed paroquet of the most delicate green, and directly afterquite a trayful of the most lovely little birds I had ever seen. Theywere about the size of chaffinches for the most part; but while somewere of the richest crimson, others were blue and green and violet, anda dozen other shades of colour mixed up in the loveliest way. 

"Now what are those, Nat?" said my uncle. 

"I don't know, sir, " I very naturally said. 

"What would they be if they were in England and only plain-coloured?"

"Why, I should have said by their beaks, uncle, that they were finches, and lived on seed. "

"Finches they are, Nat, and you are quite right to judge them by theirbeaks. "

"But I didn't know that there were finches abroad, Uncle Dick, " I said. 

"Then you know now, my boy, and by degrees you will learn that there arefinches all over the world, and sparrows, and thrushes, and cuckoos, andlarks, and hawks, crows, and all the other birds that you find inEngland. "

"Why, I thought they were all different, uncle, " I said. 

"So most people think, " he said, as he went on unpacking the birds; "thedifference is that while our British finches are sober coloured, thoseof hot countries are brilliant in plumage. So are the crow family andthe thrushes, as you will see, while some of the sparrows and tits areperfect dandies. "

"Why, I thought foreign birds were all parrots and humming-birds, andthings like that. "

"Well, we have those birds different abroad, Nat, " he replied, "and as Itell you the principal difference is in the gorgeous plumes. "

"But such birds as birds of paradise, uncle?" I said. 

"Well, what should you suppose a bird of paradise to be?"

"I don't know, " I said. 

"Well, should you think it were a finch, Nat?"

"No, uncle, " I said at once. 

"Well, it isn't a pheasant, is it?"

"Oh no!"

"What then?"

I stood with a tanager in one hand, a lovely manakin in the other, thinking. 

"They couldn't be crows, " I said, "because--"

"Because what?"

"I don't know, uncle. "

"No, of course you do not, my boy, for crows they really are. "

"What! birds of paradise with their lovely buff plumes, uncle?"

"Yes, birds of paradise with their lovely buff and amber plumes, my boy;they are of the crow family, just as our jays, magpies, and starlingsare. You would be surprised, my boy, when you came to study andinvestigate these matters, how few comparatively are the families andclasses to which birds belong, and how so many of the most gorgeouslittle fellows are only showily-dressed specimens of the familiarflutterers you have at home. Look at that one there, just on the top. "

"What! that lovely orange and black bird, uncle?" I said, picking upthe one he pointed at, and smoothing its rich plumage. 

"Yes, Nat, " he said; "what is it?"

Uncle Joe took his pipe from his lips, and looked at it very solemnly. 

"'Tisn't a parrot, " he said, "because it has not got a hooky beak. "

"No, it isn't a parrot, uncle, " I exclaimed; "its beak is more like astarling's. "

"If it were a starling, what family would it belong to?"

I stopped to think, and then recollected what he had said a short timebefore. 

"A crow, uncle. "

"Quite right, my boy; but that bird is not one of the crows. Tryagain. "

"I'm afraid to try, uncle, " I said. 

"Why, my boy?"

"Because I shall make some silly mistake. "

"Then make a mistake, Nat, and we will try to correct it. We learn fromour blunders. "

"It looks to me something of the same shape as a thrush or blackbird, sir, " I said. 

"And that's what it is, my boy. That bird is an oriole--the orangeoriole; and there is another, the yellow oriole. Both thrushes, Nat, and out in the East there are plenty more of most beautiful colours, especially the ground-thrushes. But there is someone come to call us tofeed, I suppose. We must go now. "

"Oh!" I exclaimed, "what a pity! we seem to have just begun. "

All the same we had been at work for a very long time, so hands werewashed, and we all went in to dinner. 

CHAPTER TEN. 

ALL AMONGST THE BIRD SKINS. 

My aunt waylaid me with a very unpleasant task directly after dinner, but Uncle Dick saw my disappointment, and said that he must have me, soI escaped, and, to my great delight, we went at once to his room to goon unpacking the birds, my excitement and wonder increasing everyminute. I was rather disappointed with some of the skins, for they wereas plain and ordinary looking as sparrows or larks; but Uncle Dickseemed to set great store by them, and said that some of the plainestwere most valuable for their rarity. 

Uncle Joe sat and looked on, saying very little, while Uncle Dick and Idid the unpacking and arranging, laying the beautiful skins out in rowsupon the boards and shelves. 

"They wanted unpacking, " said Uncle Dick, "for some of them are quitesoft and damp with exposure to the sea air. Well, Nat, what is it?"

"I was hoping to find some birds of paradise, uncle, " I replied. 

"Then your hopes will be disappointed, my boy, for the simple reasonthat my travels have been in Florida, Mexico, Central America, Peru, andBrazil, with a short stay of a few months in the West Indies. "

"And are there no birds of paradise there, uncle?"

"No, my boy, nor yet within thousands of miles. Birds of paradise, asthey are called, are found in the isles of the eastern seas, the AruIsles and New Guinea. "

"Oh! how I should like to go!" I cried. 

"You?" he said laughing. "What for, Nat?"

"To shoot and collect, sir, " I cried; "it must be grand. "

"And dangerous, and wearisome, " he said smiling. "You would soon wantto come back to Uncle Joe. "

"I shouldn't like to leave Uncle Joe, " I said thoughtfully; "but Ishould like to go all the same. I'd take Uncle Joe with me, " I saidsuddenly. "He'd help me ever so. "

Uncle Dick laughed, and we went on with our task, which never seemed toweary me, so delighted was I with the beauty of the birds. As one boxwas emptied another was begun, and by the time I had finished the secondI thought we had exhausted all the beauty of the collection, and saidso, but my uncle laughed. 

"Why, we have not begun the chatterers yet, Nat, " he said. "Let mesee--yes, " he continued, "they should be in that box upon which youruncle's sitting. "

Uncle Joe solemnly moved to another case and his late seat was opened, the layers of cotton-wool, in this case a little stained with sea-water, removed, and fresh beauties met my gaze. 

"There, Nat, " said Uncle Dick; "those are the fruits of a long stay inCentral America and the hotter parts of Peru. What do you think of thatbird?"

I uttered an exclamation of delight as I drew forth and laid gently inmy hand a short stumpy bird that must in life have been about as big asa very thick-set pigeon. But this bird was almost entirely of a richorange colour, saving its short wings and tail, which were of acinnamon-brown, and almost hidden by a fringe of curly, crisp orangeplumes, while the bird's beak was covered by the radiating crest, something like a frill, that arched over the little creature's head. 

"Why, nothing could be more beautiful than that, uncle, " I cried. "Whatis it?"

"The rock manakin, or chatterer, " he replied; "an inhabitant of thehottest and most sterile parts of Central America. Here is another kindthat I shot in Peru. You see it is very similar but has less orangeabout it, and its crest is more like a tuft or shaving-brush than thelovely radiating ornament of the other bird. That is almost like awheel of feathers in rapid motion. "

"And as orange as an orange, " said Uncle Joe, approvingly. 

"I thought we could not find any more beautiful birds in your boxes, uncle, " I said. 

"Oh! but we have not done yet, my boy; wait and see. "

We went on with our task, the damp peculiar odour showing that it washigh time the cases were emptied. 

"Now, Nat, we are coming to the cuckoos, " he said, as I lifted a thinlayer of wool. 

"It does seem curious for there to be cuckoos in America, " I said. 

"I don't see why, Nat, " he replied, as he carefully arranged hisspecimens. "You remember I told you it was a cuckoo, probably fromMalacca, that you showed me you had bought; well, those you are about tounpack are some of the American representatives of the family. You willsee that they are soft-billed birds, with a very wide gape and bristleslike moustaches at the sides like thin bars to keep in the captives theytake. "

"And what do they capture, sir?" I asked. 

"Oh, caterpillars and butterflies and moths, Nat. Soft-bodiedcreatures. Nature has given each bird suitable bills for its work. Mind how you take out that bird. No: don't lift it yet. See, that toprow must come out after the whole of that layer which is arranged allover the top row's tails. "

"What! do their tails go right along the box, uncle?" I cried. 

"Yes, some of them, my boy. Be careful: those are very tender anddelicate birds. "

I lifted one, and held it out to Uncle Joe, who came down from his seatto examine the glories of the bird I had in my hands. 

It was something like the cinnamon-brown and crimson bird I had bought, but much larger. Its breast was of a vivid rosy crimson, and its backand head one mass of the most brilliant golden-green. Not the green ofa leaf or strand of grass, but the green of glittering burnished metalthat flashed and sparkled in the sunshine. It seemed impossible for itto be soft and downy, for each feather looked harsh, hard, and carvedout of the brilliant flashing metal, while turn it which way I would itflashed and looked bright. 

"Well, Nat, " said Uncle Dick, "what do you say to that?"

"Oh, uncle, " I cried; "it is wonderful! But that cannot be a cuckoo. "

"Why not, Nat? If cuckoos are slaty coloured here and have breastsstriped like a hawk, that is no reason why in the hot climates, wherethe sun burns your skin brown, they should not be brightly coloured inscarlet and green. You have seen that the modest speckled thrush ofEngland has for relatives thrushes of yellow and orange. What has thepoor cuckoo done that his hot country friends should not be gay?"

"But do these lovely creatures suck all the little birds' eggs to maketheir voices clear?"

"And when they cry `cuckoo' the summer draws near, eh, Nat? No, my boy, I think not. To begin with, I believe that it is all a vulgar errorabout the cuckoo sucking little birds' eggs. Doubtless cuckoos havebeen shot with eggs in their mouths, perhaps broken in the fall, but Ithink the eggs they carried were their own, which, after laying, theywere on their way to put in some other bird's nest to be hatched, as itis an established fact they do; and because they are very small eggspeople think they are those of some other bird that the cuckoo hasstolen. "

"Are cuckoos' eggs small, uncle?" I said. 

"Very, my boy, for so large a bird. I have seen them very little largerthan the wagtail's with which they were placed. Then as to their crying`cuckoo' when summer draws near. I have heard their notes, and theylive in a land of eternal summer. But go on emptying the case. "

I drew out specimen after specimen, some even more beautiful than thefirst I had taken from the case, though some were far more sober intheir hues; but I had not taken out one yet from the top row. When atlast I set one of these free, with his tail quite a yard in length, myadmiration knew no bounds. 

In colouring it was wonderfully like the first which I have described, but in addition it had a golden-green crest, and the long feathers ofthe tail were of the same brilliant metallic colour. It seemed to methen--and though now I find beauties in sober hues I do not think I canalter my opinion--one of the loveliest, I should say one of the mostmagnificent, birds in creation, and when fourteen of these wonderfulcreatures were laid side by side I could have stopped for hoursrevelling in their beauties. 

"Well, Nat, " said my uncle, who quite enjoyed my thorough admiration, "Ishould make quite a naturalist of you if I had you with me. "

"Oh, if I could go!" I cried in an excited tone, at which he merelylaughed. "I'd give anything to see those birds alive. "

"It requires some work and patience, my boy. I was a whole year in themost inaccessible places hunting for those trogons before I got them. "

"Trogons! Yes, you said they were trogons. "

"_Trogon resplendens_. Those long-tailed feathers are fitly named, Nat, for they are splendid indeed. "

"Glorious!" I cried enthusiastically; and though we worked for sometime longer my help was very poor, on account of the number of times Ikept turning to the splendid trogons to examine their beauties again andagain. 

CHAPTER ELEVEN. 

MY HOPES. 

It was a long task, the emptying of those cases, even to get to the endof the birds, and I could not help thinking, as day after day crept by, what a wonderfully patient collector my Uncle Richard must have been. Certainly he had been away for years and had travelled thousands ofmiles, but the labour to obtain all these birds, and then carefullyskin, prepare, and fill them with wool, must have been tremendous. 

"And did you shoot them all, uncle?" I asked one day. 

"With very few exceptions, my boy, " he replied, laying down his pen fora minute to talk. "I might have bought here and there specimens of thenatives, but they are very rough preservers of birds, and I wanted myspecimens to be as perfect as could be, as plenty of poor ones come intothis country, some of which are little better than rubbish, and givenaturalists a miserable idea of the real beauty of the birds in theirnative homes. But no one can tell the immense amount of labour it costme to make this collection, as you will see, Nat, when we open this nextcase. "

Uncle Dick was right. I was astonished as we emptied the next case, which was full of tiny specimens, hundreds upon hundreds ofhumming-birds, with crests and throats like beautiful precious stones, and all so small that it seemed wonderful how they could have beenskinned and preserved. 

The more I worked with Uncle Dick the more I wondered, and the strongergrew my desire to follow in his steps. So when we had all the birds outso that they could dry in the warm air of the room, there were the casesfull of beetles of all kinds, with glistening horny wing-cases;butterflies so large and beautiful that I used to lean over them, feastmy eyes on their colours, and then go into day-dreams, in which Ipictured to myself the wonderful far-off lands that produced suchcreatures, and think and think how it would be possible to go out thereall alone, as my uncle had gone, and spend years in collecting thesevarious objects to bring home. 

Then I used to wake up again and work hard with my uncle, writing outnames in his lists, all as carefully as I could, but of course makingplenty of mistakes in the Latin names, while Uncle Joe used to sit andsmoke and look on, rarely speaking for fear of interrupting us, tillUncle Dick looked up and started a conversation by way of a rest. 

Then all the different birds when thoroughly dry had to be repacked inthe boxes, with plenty of camphor and other preservative spices and gumsto keep the various insects away, and quite a couple of months hadslipped away before we were nearly done. 

I ought to have been back at school, but Uncle Dick would not hear of mygoing, and he seemed to have such influence over my aunt that his wordwas quite law. 

"No, Sophy, I have not half done with him, " he said one evening. "Idon't want to flatter the boy, but he is very valuable to me. I couldeasily get a clerk or copyist to make out my lists and help me selectand rearrange my specimens; but he would do it mechanically. Nat takesan interest in what he is doing, and is a naturalist at heart. "

"But he ought to be going on with his studies, " said Aunt Sophia. "Itis quite time he was back at school. "

"He is learning a great deal more than he would at school, " said UncleDick; "and his handwriting is a good deal improved. It is more free andquicker. "

"But there are his other studies, " said Aunt Sophia, who was in a badhumour. 

"Well, Sophy, he has picked up a great deal of Latin since he has beenhelping me; knows ten times as much as he did about America and the WestIndian Islands, and has picked up a host of little natural historyfacts, for he is always asking questions. "

"Oh yes, " said my aunt tartly, "he can ask questions enough! so can allboys. "

"But not sensible questions, my dear, " said Uncle Dick smiling; but myaunt kept looking angrily at me as I sat hearing all that was going on. 

"Sensible questions, indeed!" she said; "and pray, of what use is itgoing to be to him that he knows how to stick a pin through a butterflyand leave the poor thing to wriggle to death. "

"Naturalists do not stick pins through butterflies and leave them towriggle to death, " said Uncle Dick, looking at me and smiling. "Supposethey did, Nat, what would happen?"

"It would be very cruel, uncle, and would spoil the specimen, " I saidpromptly. 

"To be sure it would, Nat. "

"It's all waste of time, Richard, and the boy shall go back to school. "

"I have not done with Nat yet, Sophy, and I shall be obliged by yourceasing to talk nonsense. It worries me. "

This was said in so quiet and decided a way, and in the voice of one soaccustomed to command, that my aunt said:

"Well, Richard, I suppose it must be as you wish. "

"Yes, if you please, " he said quietly. "I have the boy's interest atheart as much as you. "

As the time went on my aunt and Uncle Dick had two or three littleencounters over this, in all of which Aunt Sophy was worsted; Uncle Dickquietly forcing her to let him have his own way in everything. 

This set me thinking very much about the future, for I knew that in lessthan two months' time Uncle Dick would be off upon his new expedition;one that was to be into the most unfrequented regions of the East IndianIslands, though he had said very little about it in my presence. 

"I should like to know all about where you are going, Uncle Dick, " Isaid one afternoon, as we were working together. 

"Why, my boy?"

"Because it is so interesting to know all about foreign lands, uncle. "

"Well, my boy, I think of going from here straight away to Singapore, either with or without a stay at Ceylon. From Singapore I mean totraverse most of the islands along the equator, staying longest at suchof them as give me plenty of specimens. Then I shall go on and on toNew Guinea, collecting all the time, spending perhaps four or five yearsout there before I return; that is, if the Malays and Papuans will bekind enough to leave me alone and not throw spears at me. "

"You will go where all the most beautiful birds are plentiful, uncle?"I said. 

"Yes, my boy, collecting all the time. "

"Shall you go alone, uncle?" I ventured to say after a pause. 

"Yes, my boy, quite alone, except that I shall engage one or two nativeservants at the places where I stay, and perhaps I shall buy a boat formy own special use to cruise from island to island. Why, what are yousighing about, boy?"

"I was thinking about your going out there, uncle, all alone. "

"Well, my boy, do you suppose I shall be frightened?"

"No, uncle, of course not; but won't you be dull?"

"I shall be too busy to be dull, my boy. The only likely time for me tobe dull is of an evening, and then I shall go to sleep. "

He went on with his work until it grew dark, and then at his request Ilit the lamp, placed it down close to his writing, and remained standingthere by his elbow wanting to speak but not daring to do so, till hesuddenly turned round and looked me in the face. 

"Why, Nat, my boy, what's the matter? Are you unwell?"

"No, uncle, " I said slowly. 

"What then? Is anything wrong?"

"I--I was thinking about when you are gone, uncle. "

"Ah! yes, my boy; you'll have to go back to school then and work away atyour ciphering and French. I shall often think about you, Nat, when Iam busy over the birds I have shot, skinning and preserving them; andwhen I come back, Nat, you must help me again. "

"When you come back?" I said dolefully. 

"Yes, my lad. Let me see--you are fourteen now. In four or five yearsyou will have grown quite a man. Perhaps you will not care to help methen. "

"Oh, uncle!" I cried; for I could keep it back no longer. It had beenthe one great thought of my mind night and day for weeks now, and if myprayer were not gratified the whole of my future seemed to be too blankand miserable to be borne. 

"Why, what is it, my boy?" he said. "Nat, my lad, don't be afraid tospeak out. Is anything wrong?"

"Yes, uncle, " I panted; for my words seemed to choke me. 

"Speak out then, my boy, what is it?"

"You--you are going away, uncle. "

"Well, Nat, you've known that for months, " he said, with a smile. 

"Yes, uncle; but don't go by yourself, " I cried. "Take me with you; Iwon't want much to eat--I won't give you any trouble; and I'll work sovery, very hard to help you always, and I could be useful to you. Pray--pray, uncle, take me too. "

He pushed his chair away from the table and sat gazing at me with afrown upon his face, then he jumped up and began walking swiftly up anddown the room. 

"I would hardly let you know that I was with you, uncle, and thereshould be nothing you wanted that I would not do. Don't be angry withme for asking to go, for I do want to go with you so very, very much. "

"Angry, my boy! No, not angry, " he cried; "but no, no; it isimpossible. "

"Don't say that, uncle, " I cried; "I would work so hard. "

"Yes, yes, my boy, I know that; but it would not be just to you to dragyou away there to those wild lands to live like a savage half yourtime. "

"But I should like that, uncle, " I cried excitedly. 

"To expose you to risks of voyaging, from the savages, and from disease. No, no, Nat, you must not ask me. It would not do. "

"Oh, uncle!" I cried, with such a pitiful look of disappointment on myface, that he stopped and laid his hand upon my shoulder. 

"Why, Nat, my boy, " he said in a soft, gentle way, very different to hisusual mode of speaking, "nothing would be more delightful to me than tohave you for my companion; not for my servant, to work so hard, but tobe my friend, helpmate, and counsellor in all my journeyings. Why, itwould be delightful to have you with me, boy, to enjoy with me thediscovery of some new specimen. "

"Which we had hunted out in some wild jungle where man had never beenbefore, uncle!"

"Bird or butterfly, it would be all the same, Nat; we should prize itand revel in our discovery. "

"Yes, and I'd race you, uncle, and see which could find most new sorts. "

"And of an evening we could sit in our tent or hut, and skin andpreserve, or pin out what we had found during the day, Nat, eh?"

"Oh, uncle, it would be glorious!" I cried excitedly. "And I say--birds of paradise! We would make such a collection of all the loveliestkinds. "

"Then we should have to hunt and fish, Nat, for the pot, for there wouldbe no butchers' and fishmongers' shops, lad. "

"Oh! it would be glorious, uncle!" I cried. 

"Glorious, my boy!" he said as excitedly as I; "why, we should get onsplendidly, and--tut, tut, tut! what an idiot am I! Hold your tongue, sir, it is impossible!"

"Uncle!"

"Here have I been encouraging the boy, instead of crushing the idea atonce, " he cried impatiently. "No, no, no, Nat, my boy. It was veryfoolish of me to speak as I did. You must not think of it any more. "

"Oh! uncle, don't talk to me like that, " I cried. "Pray, pray take mewith you. "

"I tell you no, boy, " he said impatiently. "It would be unjust to youto encourage you to lead such a vagabond life as mine. Say no moreabout it, sir, " he added harshly. "It is impossible!"

A deep sigh escaped my lips, and then I was silent, for my uncle turnedto his writing again, and for the next week he was cold and distant tome, while I went on with my task in a dull, spiritless manner, feelingso miserable that I was always glad to go and hide myself away, to sitand think, and wonder what I should do when my uncle had gone. 

CHAPTER TWELVE. 

UNCLE DICK SAYS "YES!"

It was about a fortnight after this conversation, during the whole ofwhich time Uncle Dick seemed to have kept me so at arm's-length that myvery life had become wretched in the extreme, when, being in thedrawing-room one evening, my aunt, who had been talking to him about hispreparations for going away in three weeks' time, suddenly drew hisattention to me. 

"Do you see how ill and white this boy has turned, Richard? Now it's ofno use you denying it; he's quite upset with your nasty birds andstuff. "

"No, he is not, " cried Uncle Dick suddenly; and his whole mannerchanged. "The boy is fretting. "

"Fretting!" cried my aunt; "with plenty to eat and drink, and a good bedto sleep on! What has he to fret about?"

"He is fretting because he has taken it into his head that he would liketo go with me. "

"Like to go with you, Dick?" cried Uncle Joe, laying hold of the arms ofhis easy-chair. 

"Yes, Joe, I'm afraid I have turned his head with my descriptions ofcollecting abroad. "

To my utter astonishment, as I sat there with my face burning, and myhands hot and damp, Aunt Sophy did not say a word. 

"But--but you wouldn't like to go with your Uncle Richard, Nat, wouldyou?" said Uncle Joe. 

"I can't help it, uncle, " I said, as I went to him; "but I should liketo go. I don't want to leave you, but I'd give anything to gocollecting with Uncle Dick, anywhere, all over the world. "

Uncle Joe took out his red handkerchief and sat wiping his face. 

"I have turned it over in my mind a dozen times, " said Uncle Dick, "andsometimes I have thought that it would be an injustice to the boy, sometimes I have concluded that with his taste for natural history, hisknowledge of treating skins and setting out butterflies and moths, itwould be a shame not to give him every encouragement. "

"How?" said my aunt, drily. 

"By taking him with me and letting him learn to be a naturalist. "

"Humph!" said my aunt; "take him with you right away on your travels?"

"Yes, " said my Uncle Dick. 

"But I don't think it would be right, " said Uncle Joseph softly. 

"Don't be stupid, Joe, " said my aunt sharply; "why shouldn't the boy go, I should like to know?"

"Oh, aunt!" I cried excitedly. 

"Yes, sir, and oh, aunt, indeed!" she cried, quite mistaking my meaning. "Do you suppose that you are to stay here idling away your time allyour life--and--"

"That will do, " cried Uncle Dick quickly. "Nat, my boy, I have held offfrom taking you before; but if your Uncle Joseph will give his consentas your guardian, you shall come with me as my pupil, companion, andson, if you will, and as far as in me lies I will do my duty by you. What say you, Joe?" he continued, as I ran to him and took his extendedhands. 

My aunt looked at me as if she were going to retract her permission; butshe was stopped, I should say, for the first and last time in her life, by Uncle Joseph, who waved his hand and said sadly:

"It will be a great grief to me, Dick, a great grief, " he said, "and Ishall miss my boy Nat very, very much; but I won't stand in his light, Dick. I know that I can trust you to do well by the boy. "

"I will, Joe, as well as if he were my own. "

"I know it, Dick, I know it, " said Uncle Joe softly; "and I can see thatwith you he will learn a very, very great deal. Nat, my boy, you arevery young yet, but you are a stout, strong boy, and your heart is inthat sort of thing, I know. "

"And may I go--will you take me, Uncle Dick? Say you will. "

"Indeed I will, my boy, " he cried, shaking my hand warmly; "only youwill have to run the same risks as I do, and stick to me through thickand thin. "

"But I don't think it would be possible for him to be ready, " said myaunt, who evidently now began to repent of her ready consent. 

"Nonsense, Sophy!" cried Uncle Dick; "I'll get him ready in time, with afar better outfit than you could contrive. Leave that to me. Well, Nat, it is to be then. Only think first; we may be away for years. "

"I don't mind, sir; only I should like to be able to write to UncleJoe, " I said. 

"You may write to him once a week, Nat, and tell him all our adventures, my boy; but I don't promise you that you will always be able to postyour letters. There, time is short. You shall go out with me thismorning. "

"Where to, uncle?" I said. 

"To the gunsmith's, my boy. I shall have to fit you up with a lightrifle and double shot-gun; and what is more, teach you how to use them. Get your cap and let's go: there is no time to spare. "

CHAPTER THIRTEEN. 

HOW I LEARNED TO SHOOT. 

I did not know where we were going, or how we got there, in my state ofexcitement; but I found myself as if in a dream handling guns and riflesthat my uncle placed before me, and soon after we were in a long passageplace with a white-washed target at the end, and half a dozen guns on atable at my side. 

"Look here, Nat, " said Uncle Dick, "time soon steps by, my boy, and youwill grow older and stronger every day, so I shall let you have both gunand rifle a little too heavy for you. You must make shift with them atfirst, and you will improve in their use day by day. "

"Yes, uncle, " I said as I looked at the beautifully finished weaponsfrom which we were to choose. 

"Did you ever fire off a gun?" said my uncle. 

"No, uncle. "

"You will not be afraid?"

"Will it hurt me, uncle?"

"No. "

"Then I'm not afraid, " I said. 

He liked my confidence in his word, and nodded approval. 

Just then the man with us took up one of the guns to load it, but myuncle stopped him. 

"No, " he said; "let him load for himself. Look, Nat, this is one of thePatent breech-loading rifles. I pull this lever and the breech of thegun opens so that I can put in this little roll, which is a cartridge--do you see?"

"Yes, uncle. "

"Now I close it, and the rifle is ready to fire. Next I reopen, takeout the cartridge, and close again. Try if you can do the same. "

I took the rifle, and, with the exception of being too hurried andexcited, did nearly as my uncle had done. 

"Now, my boy, " he said, "the piece is loaded, and a loaded gun or rifleis a very dangerous thing. Never play with your piece; never trifle inany way; never let your barrel be pointed at those who are with you. Remember those bits of advice. "

"Yes, uncle. "

"There, now, put the piece to your shoulder, aim at that white target, and pull the trigger. "

"But there is no cap on, " I said. 

"Caps are things of the past, Nat, " he said smiling, "except that theyare inclosed in the cartridge. Now, then, hold your piece tightly toyour shoulder, take careful aim--but quickly--and fire. "

I tried to obey him exactly, but the rifle seemed very heavy to hold upfirmly, and the sight at the end of the barrel seemed to dance about;but I got it pretty steady for the moment, drew the trigger, there was asharp report, and the stock of the piece seemed to give me a thump onthe shoulder as I heard a dull _clang_. 

"Well done, Nat; a good beginning, boy. There, your bullet has hit thetarget just on the extreme edge. "

"What, that black star? Is that the place, uncle?"

"To be sure it is, my boy. I thought that rifle would be too heavy foryou; but if you can do that the first time, it decides me to keep it. "

The man smiled approval, and my uncle took the rifle in his hand. 

"Brush!" shouted the man, and a brush started out of a hole in the wall, and touched the target over with white-wash. 

"Now for the double gun, " said my uncle. "Try this one, Nat. "

I took the gun and put it to my shoulder, aiming at the target; but itseemed heavier than the rifle, and the sight wavered about. 

"Try this one, Nat, " said my uncle; and he handed me another with rathershorter barrels. 

"I like this one, uncle, " I said. "It's ever so much lighter. "

"No, sir, " said the man smiling; "it's half a pound heavier. It is themake. The weight of the gun is more central, and it goes up to the eyebetter. "

"Yes, " said my uncle; "it is a handy little gun. Load that the same asyou did before. "

I found the construction so similar that I had no difficulty in loadingboth barrels of the gun, and it seemed such easy work to just slip in acouple of little rolls of brown paper as compared to the way in which Ihad seen men load guns with a ramrod. 

"Now, Nat, " said my uncle in a quick businesslike way; "once more, youmust remember that a gun is not a plaything, and though you are a boy inyears you must begin to acquire the serious ways of a man. To handle agun properly is an art, perfection in which means safety to yourself andfriends, durability to the gun, and death quick and painless for theobject at which you fire. Now then. No hesitation, boy: raise your gunquickly to your shoulder, take a sharp aim, and fire right and leftbarrels at those two targets. "

My heart beat fast as I did as my uncle bade me, feeling two sharp thudson my shoulder, and then as I stared through the smoke I expected to seethe two white targets covered with shot marks. 

"Better luck next time, Nat, " said my uncle smiling. 

"Haven't I hit them, uncle?" I said in dismay. 

"No, my boy; one charge ploughed up the sawdust below the target on theright, and the other scored the white-washed wall three feet to the leftof the second target. "

"But do you think it is a good gun, uncle? I aimed quite straight. "

"We'll see, Nat, " he replied, taking the gun from my hand, and reloadingit with a quick cleverness of hand that fascinated me. 

Then raising the gun he fired both barrels in rapid succession, hardlyseeming to take aim, and as the smoke rose above our heads we all walkedtowards the targets, which looked like currant dumplings. 

The man with us rubbed his hands with satisfaction, saying that it was acapital close pattern, which my uncle afterwards explained to me meantthat the shot marks were very close and regular all over the targets, instead of being scattered irregularly, which he said was a greatdisadvantage in a gun. 

"I don't think, sir, that you'll find many guns do better than that, sir; and, if you'll excuse me for saying so, I don't think manygentlemen would have made two such clever shots. "

"There is no cleverness in it, " said my uncle quietly. "When a manspends all his days with a gun in his hand it becomes like second natureto him to hit that at which he aims. Yes, I like the gun. Now, Nat, what do you say--which was in fault last time?"

"I was, uncle, " I said rather ruefully. "I thought it would be so easyto shoot. "

"So it is, my boy, when you have had practice. Now come back and wewill not lose any more time in selecting pieces. You shall have thatgun and that rifle, and we will have a couple of hours' practice atloading and firing. "

We walked back to the table, and as we did so I saw a man thrust along-handled brush from a loophole at the side of the wall and whitenthe targets once more. 

"You decide upon those two pieces, then, sir, " said the gunmaker; and myuncle bowed his head. 

I noticed then how quiet he seemed when away from home, speaking verylittle but always to the purpose; a habit, I suppose, acquired from hislong and solitary life abroad. 

He then said that we had an abundant supply of cartridges, and took achair beside me. 

"Now, Nat, " he said, as soon as we were alone, save that a man wasbehind the loophole ready to thrust out his long-handled brush to whitenthe target. "Now, Nat, my boy, fire away all that ammunition. It willnot be wasted, for it will make you used to your gun. We will leave therifle practice till we get to sea. Now, then, begin, and mind this, when you have fired keep your eye upon the object at which you aimed. I'll tell you why. If it is a bird, say a valuable specimen, that wehave been seeking for weeks, you may have hit the object, but it flies ashort distance before it drops, and if you have lost sight of it for amoment all our trouble is wasted, for it is sometimes labour in vain toseek for small objects in a dense, perhaps impenetrable jungle. "

"I'll remember that, uncle. "

"Another thing, my boy--a very simple thing, but one which you mustlearn to do, for your eyes are too valuable when we are collecting forthem to do anything but look out for the treasures we seek. Now mindthis: you raise your gun, take aim, and fire--not hurriedly, mind, butwith quick ease. Then either before or after you have fired your secondbarrel, according to circumstances, but with your eyes still fixed uponthe bird or animal at which you shot, open the breech of your gun, takeout the spent cartridge, and reload. "

"Without looking, uncle?"

"Certainly: your fingers will soon manage all that with a littleeducation. "

I could not help a little nervous haste as I began to load and fire atthe targets, but after two or three shots I grew more used to what I wasdoing, and to my great delight found that I had hit the target. 

Then after a little more practice I found it so much easier that Igenerally saw one or two little spots on the white discs; and by thetime that the ammunition was all gone--that was after I had firedforty-eight times--I had once or twice made a respectable show upon thetarget, but I finished off with four misses, and as my head was nowaching badly from the concussion and the noise, I turned with a veryrueful face to my uncle. 

"Time we left off that, " he said smiling. "You are tired, and yourhands are getting unsteady. "

"I'm afraid I shall never shoot, Uncle Dick, " I said dolefully. 

"Nonsense, my boy!" he cried, clapping me on the shoulder; "you shotvery badly indeed, but better than I expected, and you steadily improveduntil you grew tired. All these matters take time. "

CHAPTER FOURTEEN. 

HOW TO MANAGE A BOAT. 

The time was short before we were to start on our long journey, butUncle Dick was determined to make the best of it, and he steadily wenton with what he called my education, as well as fitting me out withproper necessaries for my voyage. 

These last were very few and simple. 

"For you see, Nat, " he said, smiling, "we must not encumber ourselveswith anything unnecessary. You must bid good-bye to collars and cuffs, and be content with flannels, one to wear and one for your knapsack; andthis you will have to wash and dry whenever you get a chance. We'lltake some socks, but after a time we shall have to be content withnothing but good boots. We must not have an ounce of luggage that wecan do without. "

It was a delicious time of adventure to me as I went about with UncleDick buying the necessaries for our trip, and very proud I felt of myflannels and stout drill breeches and Norfolk jackets, with belt to holdcartridges, and a strong sheathed knife. 

Every day I had a long practice with my gun with what uncle said weresatisfactory results; and matters had been going on like this for abouta fortnight when my uncle said one day:

"Now, Nat, we must have a bit more education, my boy. We shall veryoften be left to our own resources, and travel from island to island ina boat, which we shall have to manage; so come along and let me see if Icannot make a sailor of you before we start. "

In order to do this he took me down to Gravesend, where, in spite of itsbeing a rough day, he engaged a sailing-boat. 

"Bit too rough for that, mister, isn't it?" said a rough-looking sailorwho stood by with his hands in his pockets. 

"It is rough, my man, " said my uncle quietly. "Jump in, Nat. "

I felt afraid, but I would not show it, and jumped into the boat, whichwas pushed off, and my uncle at once proceeded to hoist the lug-sail. 

"That's right, Nat, " he said encouragingly. "I saw that you felt a bitnervous, for your cheeks were white; but that is the way: bravely meet aterror and it shrinks to half its size. I can remember feeling as timidas could be on entering an open boat and pulling off in a choppy sea;but now I know the danger, and how to meet it, I feel as calm andcomfortable as you will after a trip or two. Now then, lay hold of thatrope and give a pull when I cry `haul', and we'll soon have a littlesail upon her. "

I did as he bade me, and, pulling at the rope, the sail was hoisted partof the way with the effect that it ballooned out in an instant, and theboat went sidewise. 

"Mind, uncle, " I shouted; "the boat's going over;" and I clung to theother side. 

"No, it isn't, Nat, " he said coolly. "We could heel over twice as muchas that without danger. I'll show you. Take another pull here. "

"No, no, uncle, " I cried, "I'm satisfied; I believe you. "

"Take hold of the rope and haul, " he shouted; and I obeyed him, with theboat heeling over so terribly that I felt sure that the water would rushover the side. 

He laughed as he made fast the rope, and bade me go to the rudder, for Ihad taken tight hold of the side of the boat. 

There was something so quick and decided about Uncle Dick's way ofordering anyone that I never thought of disobeying him, and I crept tothe rudder, while he took his place beside me as the boat danced up anddown upon what I, who had never seen the open sea, thought frightfulwaves. 

"Now, Nat, " he said, "you see this rope I have here. "

"Yes, uncle. "

"This is the sheet, as it is called, of the sail, and it runs throughthat block to make it easier for me to give or take as I want. Now, myboy, here is your first lesson in managing a sailing-boat whether thewind is rough, or as gentle as a breath. Never fasten your sheet, buthold it loose in your hand. "

"Why, uncle?" I said, as it seemed to me that it would have saved allthe trouble of holding it if it had been tied to the side. 

"That's why, " he said, as just then the wind increased, so that I clungonce more to the side, for the sail was blown so hard that the boatwould have gone over enough for the water to rush in if Uncle Dick hadnot let the rope run swiftly through his hands, making the sail quiteloose, and the boat became upright once more. 

"I brought you out on a roughish day, Nat, " he continued, "so as to giveyou a good lesson. Look here, Nat, --if an unskilful rider mounted aspirited horse he would most likely be thrown; and if a person who doesnot know how to manage a sailing-boat goes out in one on a windy day, the chances are that the boat is capsized, fills, and goes to thebottom. Now, if I had not had hold of the sheet then, and eased off thesail--let it go, as a sailor would call it, --we should have beencapsized, and then--"

"What then, uncle?" I said, feeling very nervous indeed. 

"We should have gone to the bottom, my boy, and been drowned, for Idon't think I could have swum ashore from here in my clothes and takenyou as well. "

"Then--then, hadn't we much better go ashore at once, uncle?" I said, looking at him nervously. 

"Yes, Nat, I'll take you ashore at once if you feel afraid; but beforedoing so I will tell you that I brought you out here to give you asevere lesson in what boat-sailing with me is likely to be; and I tellyou besides, Nat, that I know well how to manage a boat. You have hadenough of it, I see, and we will go back. "

He made a motion to take the tiller out of my hands, for I was steeringas he told me to steer, but I pushed his hand back. 

"I thought you were frightened, Nat, " he said; and then there was apause, for I wanted to speak, but the words would not come. At last, though, they did. 

"I am frightened, uncle, very much frightened; and this going up anddown makes me feel sick. "

"All right, then, Nat, we'll go back, " he said kindly; but he waswatching me all the while. 

"No, " I gasped, "we won't, and--and, " I cried, setting my teeth fast, "Iwon't be sick. "

"But it is dangerous, Nat, my boy, " he said; "and we are going straightaway into rougher water. Let us go back. "

"No, " I said, "you brought me out to try me, uncle, and I won't be acoward, not if I die. "

He turned his head away for a few minutes, and seemed to be looking atthe distant shore, and all the while the little boat rushed through thewater at a tremendous rate, the sail bellying out and the gunwale downdangerously near the waves as we seemed to cut our way along. 

The feeling of sickness that had troubled me before now seemed to gooff, as if my determination had had something to do with it; and inspite of the sensation of dread I could not help liking my position, andthe way in which we mastered the waves, as it were, going head on to onethat seemed as if it would leap into the boat, but only for us to riseup its slope and then plunge down to meet another, while the danger Ihad feared minute after minute floated away astern. 

When my uncle turned his head he said quietly:

"Nat, my boy, it was dangerous work to come out here with me; but, myboy, it is far more dangerous work to go out on that long voyage with meamongst savages, perhaps; to sail on unknown seas, and to meet perilsthat we can not prepare to encounter. Do you not think, my boy, youhave chosen badly? Come, Nat, speak out. I will not call you a coward, for it would only be natural for you to refuse to go. Come, speak to mefrankly. What do you say?"

"Was it dangerous to come out to-day, uncle, in this little boat?"

"Decidedly, my boy. You heard what that old boatman said. "

"Yes, uncle. Then why did you come?"

He stared at me for a moment or two, and then said quietly to me, leaning forward so that he could look straight into my eyes. 

"To give you a lesson, my boy. "

"But you knew you could manage the boat, uncle?"

"Yes, my boy. I have had a good deal of experience in boat-sailing onthe great American rivers, and on the sea. "

"And you would not mind coming out at a time like this, uncle?"

"No, my boy, certainly not. I have been out years ago with the Yarmouthboatmen in very rough seas indeed. "

There was a pause for a time, and then he said again, "Well, Nat, willyou give up?"

"No, uncle, " I said excitedly, "I don't feel half so frightened. Icouldn't help it then. "

"You'd have been a strange boy, Nat, if you had helped it, " he saidlaughing; "and I am very glad we came. Now, let me tell you that we arein a very small boat in water quite rough enough to be very dangerous;but knowing what I do, possessing, as I do, the knowledge which ispower, Nat, there is not the least danger whatever, and you may restperfectly assured that we will get back quite safe. "

"Then I've been terribly cowardly, and afraid for nothing, uncle, " Isaid, as I felt horribly ashamed. 

"Yes, my boy, but that is generally the case, " he said smiling. "Youwere afraid because you were ignorant. Once you know well what you areabout, you feel ashamed of your old cowardice. "

"But it's very shocking to be like that, uncle, " I said. 

"Not at all, my boy. It is the result of ignorance. The more ignorantand uncultivated people are, the greater cowards they seem. They aresuperstitious, and believe in ghosts and goblins and imps and fairies;and as for savages in far-off regions, they are sometimes the greatestcowards under the sun. "

"I feel very much ashamed of myself, uncle, " I said, and the tears stoodin my eyes. 

He looked at me very kindly as I spoke. 

"I wish I was not so ignorant. "

"For my part, Nat, " he said, "I feel very proud of you, my boy; and letme tell you that you have no cause to be ashamed at all. Now take holdof the sheet here, and give and take as I tell you. Don't be afraid tolet it slip through your hands fast if there is a heavy squall. I'llsteer. The sea is heavier out in this long reach. Tell me when you'dlike to put back. "

"I don't want to go back, uncle, " I said; "let's go on. "

He nodded, and away we dashed, scudding along and riding over the waves, while he showed me how he steered, and why he did this and that; how, bya little pressure on the tiller, he could check our speed, and even turnthe little vessel so that we were facing where the wind blew from, andnow the sail flapped angrily; but we made no progress at all, only weretossed about on the waves. 

I told him that I thought we could only go along with the wind straightbehind us, but he showed me how we could sail with the wind on eitherside, and sometimes with it almost facing us, by what he called tacking, which I found meant that, if the wind came from straight before us, sayat a certain point in front, we could get there at last by zigzaggingthrough the water, now half a mile to the left, now half a mile to theright, a common way of progressing which brought us nearer and nearerevery time. 

"The sea is rougher than I thought, " he said, "for I suppose we may callit sea out here, Nat, this being the estuary of the Thames, so I thinkI'll make that do for to-day. "

"Don't go back for me, uncle, " I said, as a wave broke over the bow ofthe boat, splashing us from top to toe. 

"I am going back for both our sakes, Nat, for we shall soon be wetthrough. It is a day for india-rubber coats; but this has been aglorious sail, and a splendid lesson for you, Nat. "

"Yes, uncle, " I said, "and I feel hardly frightened a bit now. "

"No, my boy, it has given you far more confidence than you had before. It is live and learn, Nat; you believe more in me and I believe more inyou. "

He gave me one of his nods as he said this, and then took the rope frommy hand. 

"Now, Nat, steer us home, my boy; I'll tell you what to do. By and byyou and I will have a native boat, perhaps, with a matting sail, tomanage, sailing about near the equator. "

"But is it rough out there, uncle, amongst the islands?" I said. 

"Very, at times, my boy; but with a light, well-built boat like this Ishould not be afraid to go anywhere. See how like a duck she is inshape, and how easily she rides over the waves. I should like to haveone exactly the same build but twice as large, and with the fore partand poop decked over or covered in with canvas; and I don't know butwhat it would be wise to take out such a boat. "

Then he went on giving me explanations about the sail, and which was alug-sail, what was meant by fore-and-aft rig, and a dozen other things, showing me the while too how to steer. 

The result was that, drenched with spray, but all in a glow withexcitement, we got safely back, and for my part feeling that I had had alesson indeed, and ready to put out any time with my uncle in farrougher seas. 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN. 

SAYING "GOOD-BYE!"

Days of practice with my gun followed, and then two or three moreafternoons in the mouth of the Thames, my uncle always selecting theroughest days for that purpose; but after a time or two I quite got overmy dread of the water, and was ready enough to hold the sheet or takethe tiller, picking up very rapidly a knowledge of how to steer so as toease the boat over the waves that would take us on the beam; learninghow to tack and go about: and a dozen other little matters highlynecessary for one who attempts the management of a boat. 

And then the day of parting came, for Uncle Dick had made all hispreparations, which were after all very simple, consisting as they didof two or three changes of clothes, plenty of ammunition, tools forskinning birds and animals, an abundant supply of preserving paste, andsome medicines. 

It was arranged that we were to go by one of the French steamers fromMarseilles, to catch which we had of course to cross France, and then weintended to travel by one of the Peninsular and Oriental steamers toSingapore after crossing the Isthmus of Suez, for this was long beforeMonsieur de Lesseps had thrust spade into the sand. 

"Get the good-byes over quickly, Nat, " said Uncle Dick; and this I didas far as my Aunt Sophy was concerned, though she did kiss me and seemmore affectionate than usual. 

But it was different with poor Uncle Joseph, and had I known how hewould take it to heart I'm afraid that I should have thought twice overbefore making up my mind to go. 

"I can hardly believe it, Nat, my boy, " he said in a husky voice. "Itdon't seem natural for you to be going away, my boy, and I don't knowhow I shall get on without you. "

As he spoke he held my hands in his, and though he was pretending to bevery cheerful, I could see that he was greatly troubled, and after allhis kindness to me I felt as if I was behaving cruelly and ungratefullyin the extreme. 

"But I'm not going to grieve about you, Nat, my boy, " he said quitecheerfully, "and here's your knife. "

As he spoke he drew a splendid great jack-knife out of his pocket, hauling out a quantity of white cord to which it was attached, andproceeding to fasten it round my waist. 

"There, Nat, my boy, " he said, "it was the best I could get you; and theman says it is a splendid bit of stuff. Do you like it, Nat--do youlike it?"

"Oh, uncle, " I said, "it is too kind of you!"

"Not a bit, my boy, not a bit; and now make good use of it, and growstrong and big, and come back as clever a man as your uncle, and I knowyou will. "

There is a bit of history to that knife, for it was only the day beforethat he and I and Uncle Dick were together, and Uncle Joe wanted to makeme a present. 

"There, Nat, " said Uncle Joe, drawing his heavy gold watch out of thefob by its watered-silk ribbon with the handsomely chased gold key andlarge topaz seal at the end, "I shall give you that watch, my boy, for akeepsake. Take it, Nat, and put it in your pocket; keep it out ofsight, my boy, till you have gone. I shall tell your aunt afterwards, but she mightn't like it, you know, and it would be a littleunpleasant. "

"But I don't like to take your watch, uncle, " I said, glad as I shouldhave been to have it, for it seemed too bad to take it away. 

"Quite right, Nat, " said Uncle Dick; "don't take it. "

"Not take it!" said Uncle Joe in a disappointed tone. 

"No; he does not want a watch, Joe. Where he is going he must make thesun his watch. "

"Yes, " said Uncle Joe quickly, "but how about the night?"

"Then he'll have to sleep and rest himself for the next day's work. "

"And how about getting up in good time?"

"Daylight's the good time for getting up, Joe, " said Uncle Dick; "andthe sun will tell him the time. "

"Ah!" cried Uncle Joe triumphantly, "but the sun does not always shine. "

"No, not here, " replied Uncle Dick. "You have too much smoke and fog. We are going where he shines almost too much. Here, put away yourwatch, Joe. It is of no use to a boy who will be journeying through theprimeval forest, plunging through thorny undergrowth or bog, or fordingrivers and letting his clothes dry on him afterwards. "

"But I should have liked him to have the watch, " said Uncle Joe, rubbingone side of his nose softly with the case. 

"Leave it for him in your will, then, my boy, " said Uncle Dick. "Hewants nothing that will encumber him, and your watch would only be anuisance when the water had soaked in. Leave it to him in your will. "

"Yes, " said Uncle Joseph, "but I should have liked to give him somethingelse to make him always remember me when he's away. "

"Why, Uncle Joe, " I cried, with a curious choking feeling coming in mythroat, "you don't think I could ever forget you?"

"No, my boy, no, " he said, shaking my hand very heartily, and thenlaying the watch down, as if he didn't care to take to it again. 

"It's very kind of you, Joe, " said Uncle Dick, for he saw how hisbrother-in-law seemed hurt; "but don't you see, my dear boy, we aregoing to lead the roughest of rough lives, and what we carry at a timewhen every extra ounce will be a trouble, must be the barestnecessities. I've often had to leave behind valuable things, solelybecause I could not carry them. Here, I tell you what: you go into thecity to-morrow, and buy him one of the best, and biggest, and strongestjack-knives you can find; one of those with a steel loop so that it canhang handily from a lanyard, ready for any purpose from cutting hisbreakfast to hacking a way through the canes, or skinning a wild beast. You could not give him a better present than that. "

"To be sure, " cried Uncle Joe, brightening up, "I will. What kind of ahandle would you like, Nat?"

"Never mind the handle, Joe; look to the blade. Let it be a thoroughlygood bit of stuff, the best you can buy. "

"To be sure. Yes; to be sure, " cried Uncle Joe; and taking up his watchhe lowered it so carelessly into its place that it missed the fob, andran down the right leg of his trousers into his Wellington boot. 

I had to turn boot-jack and drag the boot off before the watch could berecovered, Uncle Dick laughing heartily the while. 

And now this was the knife the good, amiable old fellow had got for me, and certainly it was one that would stand me in good stead for anylength of time. 

"Good-bye, Joe, old fellow, " said Uncle Dick, gripping his hand fast. "I'll take care of Nat. "

"Yes, yes, you will, won't you?" he cried. 

"Indeed I will, Joe, indeed I will; and now once more good-bye, oldfellow, I'm off. Till we meet again. Come after me soon, Nat. "

Uncle Dick went away so as to leave us together, and no sooner were wealone than Uncle Joe hesitated for a moment, and then hugged me to hisbreast. 

"Good-bye; God bless you, my boy!" he cried. "It's all for the best, and I won't worry about your going; only come back to me as soon as youcan, and mind you write. "

I can remember that there was a curious dim look about everything justthen, and that Uncle Dick was very quiet in the cab; and so he was inthe train, speaking to me hardly at all, and afterwards he read tohimself nearly all the way to Paris, after which he suddenly seemed toturn merry and bright, and chatted to me in the heartiest way. 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN. 

OUT ON THE BLUE WATER. 

Everything was so new to me that, on embarking at Marseilles, I wasnever tired of inspecting the large steamer, and trying, with onlymoderate success, to talk to the French sailors, who, on learning ourdestination, were very civil; but, after the first day or two, began tojoke me about never coming back any more. 

It was comical work trying to make out what they meant as they began totalk to me about the terrible wild beasts I should meet, and, above all, about the orang-outangs, which they assured me were eight or nine feethigh, and would look upon me, they assured me, as a _bonne bouche_. 

The third day out on the beautiful blue water, as some of the passengershad guns out, and were shooting at the sea-birds for amusement merely, apractice that I should have thought very cruel but for the fact thatthey never once hit anything, Uncle Dick came up to me on the poop deckand clapped me on the shoulder. 

"Now, Nat, " he said, "there's plenty of room out here for a rifle ballto go humming away as far as it likes without danger to anyone; so getout your rifle and you shall have a practice. "

"At the sea-gulls, uncle?" I said. 

"No, no; nonsense!" he said; "we don't shoot sea-gulls with a rifle. Ishall start you with a target. "

"A target, uncle?" I said; "but if you do, we shall leave it all behindin a very short time. "

"To be sure we shall, " he replied, laughing; "and then we'll haveanother. "

I ran down and got my rifle out of the cabin, feeling half ashamed to goon deck again when I had fastened on my belt full of cartridges; but Igot over my modesty, and joined my uncle, whom I found waiting for mewith half a dozen black wine bottles, and as many bladders blown outtightly, while the bottles were empty and firmly corked. 

"Now, Nat, " he said, "here are your targets, and I reckon upon yourhaving half a dozen shots at each before the steamer takes us too faraway, unless you manage to sink it sooner. "

I looked at my uncle to see if he was laughing at me, but he was quiteserious, and, in obedience to his order, I loaded and stood ready. 

"Now, look here, my boy, " he said; "this will be rather a difficulttask, for both your target and you are in motion. So you must aim aswell as you can. I should draw trigger just as the bladder is rising. "

"But how shall we know if I hit it?"

"You are not very likely to hit it, Nat, " he said smiling; "but if youdo, the bladder will collapse--the bottle be shivered to fragments, andsink. Now let us see. "

It made me feel nervous to see so many people collect about me, one andall eager to witness my skill, and I knew enough French to understand agood many of their remarks. Some said I must be a very skilful shot, others that I could not shoot at all; and one way and another theydisconcerted me so that, when my uncle threw the first bladder over theside, and I saw it floating away, I felt so confused that I let it getsome distance before I fired. 

"Reload, " said my uncle; and I did so, and fired again. 

"Reload, " he said; and, having obeyed him, I waited till the bladder wason the top of a wave, and again fired without result. 

"Again, " said my uncle; "don't hesitate, and fire sharply. "

The bladder was now getting a long way astern and looking very small, sosmall that I knew I should not hit it, and consequently I felt nosurprise that it should go floating away. 

"Don't lose time, Nat, " my uncle continued, just as if it was quite amatter of course that I should go on missing shot after shot. 

So once more I prepared to fire, and as I did so I saw that two of theFrench passengers had their telescopes fixed upon the object at which, after taking very careful aim, speck as it seemed, I fired. 

To my utter astonishment, as the smoke rose I saw no bladder wasfloating on the waves, a fact of which the lookers-on had alreadyinformed me by a round of applause. 

"He would not hit them when they were close, " cried one passenger. "Isaid, he would not try. It was un grand shot, messieurs, un coupmerveilleux. "

I felt scarlet in the face, and grew the more and more ashamed as firstone and then another insisted upon shaking hands with me. 

"Now, Nat, " said my uncle in a low voice, "after that you will lose yourcharacter if you do not hit some more. "

"Pray, don't send out another, uncle, " I whispered. 

"Why not, boy? What does it matter if you do miss? Keep on practising, and never mind what people say. Are you ready?"

"Yes, uncle. "

"Fire, then, as soon as you get a good view of the bladder. "

I waited until it was about forty yards away, and rising slowly to thetop of a wave, when, calculating the distance as well as I could, Ifired, and the bladder disappeared. 

I could not believe it, and expected each moment to see it come back tothe surface; but no, there was no bladder visible; and, having reloaded, my uncle sent another afloat, bidding me wait till it was farther awaybefore I fired. 

I obeyed him and missed. Fired again and missed, but the third time thebladder collapsed and sank, and my reputation as a marksman was made. 

The French passengers would have petted and spoiled me had not my uncleinterfered; and when we were once more alone he began to talk of mysuccess. 

"You quite exceeded anything I expected, Nat, " he said smiling. "Howyou managed it, my boy, I cannot tell. The first time I set it down topure accident; but when you repeated it again and again, all I can say, my boy, is that your eyes must be wonderfully good, and your aim andjudgment even better. I doubt with all my practice whether I could havebeen more successful. "

"I think it must have been chance, uncle, " I said, "for I seemed to haveno time to aim, and the vessel heaved up so just then. "

"No, my boy, " he replied, "it was not chance, but the result in a greatmeasure of your practice with your gun; but you will not always shoot sowell as that. When you come to be out with me in the wilds of one ofthe islands we visit, and have perhaps been tramping miles through roughforest, you will find it hard work to hit the object at which you aim. "

"But it will be easier to shoot from the ground than from on shipboard, uncle, will it not?"

"For some things yes, my boy, for others no. But wait a bit, Nat, andwe shall see. "

The practice was kept up all through our voyage, and I became quite anadept at breaking floating bottles and other objects that were sent overthe side, for the bladders soon came to an end; but our voyage was veryuneventful. It was always enjoyable, for there was so much that wasfresh to see. I never complained about the heat, which was very great, although people were lying about under awnings, while I used to get intothe chains, or the rigging below the bowsprit, so as to gaze down intothe wonderfully clear water and watch the dolphins and bonita as theydarted through the sunlit depths with such ease and grace. 

Sometimes I have wished that I could be a fish, able with a sweep or twoof my powerful tail to dart myself through the water just as I pleased, or float at any depth, keeping up with the huge steamer as it was drivenon. 

Then a change would come over me, and I would think to myself: Well, I'mvery glad I'm not a fish; for just as I would be watching some lovelymackerel-like fellow with a flashing back of mottled blue and purple, some monster ten times his size would make a dart at him and engulf himin his capacious throat. And as I watched the larger fish seize theirfood, it seemed to me that once they could get within easy range theyseemed to suck their prey into their jaws, drawing it in with the greatrush of water they sent through their gills. 

It was not tempting at such times and above all when one used to see athin grey fellow, six or eight feet long, seeming to sneak by the sideof the ship, or just astern, where there was an eddy. Every now andthen it would turn half over and show the pale under parts as it made asnatch at something that looked good to eat; and after a good many triesthe sailors managed to catch one by means of a hook baited with a pieceof ham that had been condemned as high. 

It was only about six feet long, and when it lay on the wet deckthrashing about with its tail I thought that after all a shark was notsuch a dangerous-looking creature as I expected, and I said so to myuncle. 

"Think not, Nat?" he said. 

"Why, no, uncle, I don't think I should be afraid of a shark; I think Icould catch such a fellow as that with a rod and line. "

"Ah! Nat, some of them run up to fifteen or twenty feet in length, " hesaid; "and they are awfully savage brutes. Such a one as this would beenough to kill a man. "

"He don't look like it, uncle, " I said. "Why, look here!"

I ran to where the shark lay, and stooping down, seized it with bothhands by the thin part just before where the tail forked, meaning togive it a shake and drag the brute along the deck; but just as I gottight hold the creature seemed to send a wave down its spine, and withone flip I was sent staggering across the deck to fall heavily at fulllength, the crew and passengers around roaring with laughter at mydiscomfiture. 

I was so angry and mortified that I jumped up, opened my greatjack-knife, and was rushing at the shark, when my uncle laid his handupon my arm. 

"Don't be foolish, Nat, but take your lesson like a man. You will notdespise the strength of a shark for the future. "

"Why, it was like touching a great steel spring, uncle, " I said. 

"If anything I should say that the backbone of a shark has more power init when set in motion than a steel spring, Nat, " he said. "There, now, our friend is helpless, and we can examine him in peace. "

For, after thrashing the deck with a series of tremendous blows with histail, the shark had his quietus given to him with a few blows of ahatchet, and as he lay upon the deck my uncle pointed out to me thepeculiarity of the monster's structure, and after we had examined hisnasty sharp triangular teeth in the apparently awkwardly placed mouth, Iwas shown how it was that a shark had such wonderful power of propellingitself through the water, for in place of having an ordinary fin-liketail, made up of so many bones with a membrane between, the shark'sspine is continued right along to the extremity of the upper curve ofits propeller, the other curve being comparatively small. 

The flying-fish in the Red Sea have been described too often for it tobe necessary for me to say anything about the beauty of these fishyswallows, but we saw hundreds of them dart out of the sea, skim alongfor a distance, and then drop in again. Then there were glimpses had inthe deep clear blue--for that was the colour I found the Red Sea--offishes with scales of orange, vermilion, and gold, bright as thegorgeous sunsets that dyed sea and sky of such wondrous hues eveningafter evening before darkness fell all at once, and the great stars, brighter, bigger, and clearer than I had ever seen them before, turnedthe heavens into a vast ocean of gems. 

Day and night seemed to me to follow one another with wonderfulrapidity, till one morning, as the steamer was panting and throbbing onits way, my uncle pointed to what looked like a low distant haze faraway on our right. 

"Do you see those mountains, Nat?" he said. 

"Mountains, uncle! Are these mountains?"

"Yes, my boy, in a land that I could find it in my heart to visit, onlythat is not quite wild enough for our purpose. "

"What place is it, then?" I said, gazing eagerly at the faint distantline. 

"Sumatra, Nat;" and as he spoke the long-shaped island, so familiar onthe maps at school, rose before my eyes, and with it came Java, Celebes, Borneo, and New Guinea, places that were before long to be the objectsof our quest. 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. 

THE MALAY KRIS IN STRANGE LANDS. 

Three days later we were lying in Singapore harbour, and I had one ortwo runs ashore to have a good look at the town, with its busy port fullof all kinds of vessels, from the huge black-sided steamer and trim EastIndiaman, to the clumsy high-sterned, mat-sailed, Chinese junk, and longnarrow Malay prahu. 

I could have stayed there a month staring about me at the varied scenesin the bright sunshine, where hundreds of Chinamen in their blue cottonloose clothes and thick-soled shoes were mingled with dark-lookingHindoostanees, Cingalese, and thick-lipped, flat-nosed, fierce-lookingMalays, every man in a gay silk or cotton sarong or kilt, made in plaidsof many colours and with the awkward-looking, dangerous kris stuck atthe waist. 

I say I could have stopped here for a month, enjoying the change, andwondering why the Malays should be so constantly chewing betel-nut andpepper leaves. I learned, too, that there was much to be seen in theisland, and that there were tigers in the jungle near the plantations;but my uncle said there was no time to waste, and we must get on. 

"We don't want civilisation, Nat, or the works of man; we want to go faraway into the wilds. "

"But don't you mean to go to Malacca, uncle?" I said. "That is whereso many birds come from. "

"I did think of going there, Nat; but I want to get to less-frequentedspots, and I have found to-day a great prahu that is going right away tothe Ke Islands, which will be well on our route to Aru and New Guinea. The Malay captain says he will take us, and tow our boat behind. "

"Our boat, uncle?"

"Yes, Nat; while you have been staring about at the heathen I have beenbusy looking out for a boat, and I have found one that I think will do. Come and see. "

I went with him to a creek outside the busiest part of the town, wherethe principal part of the people seemed to be fishermen, and here, afterthreading our way amongst dozens of clumsy-looking boats, my uncleshowed me one that I should have thought would be the last to suit us. 

"Why, you don't admire my choice, Nat!" he said smiling. 

"It is such a common-looking thing, and it isn't painted, " I replied. 

"No, my boy, but it is well varnished with native resin. It is Malaybuilt, very strong, and the mast and sails are well-made, though rough;better still, it will carry us, and a man or two for crew if we like, and give plenty of room for our treasures as well. "

"But it is differently rigged to the boats on the Thames, uncle, " I saiddisparagingly. 

"Naturally, my boy, " he said laughing; "but the sails will require thesame management. "

"And what an anchor, uncle!" I said. "Why, it is made of bamboo and astone. "

"We can easily buy a small grapnel and some cord, Nat, " he said smiling;"and when you have found out how our boat will sail, you will thinkbetter of it, I am sure. "

On the following day but one we were on board the prahu surrounded byfierce-looking Malays, every man being armed with his kris, and lookingas bloodthirsty a lot as I thought I had ever seen. Our boat was towingbehind as the men used long oars to get us out of the port, and then thegreat matting sails were hoisted, and we began to go swiftly through thesurging sea. 

"There, Nat, " said my uncle gleefully, "good-bye to civilisation, for weare fairly off. How do you feel now?"

"I was thinking, uncle, suppose that, now they have us safely on board, and away from all help--"

"They were suddenly to rise up, draw their knives, which are said to bepoisoned, Nat. "

"Yes, uncle, and stab us. "

"Rob us, " he said laughing. 

"And throw us overboard, uncle. "

"Ah! Nat; suppose they did. What would Uncle Joe say?"

"It would kill him, uncle, " I said, with tears in my eyes. 

"And Aunt Sophy?" he said. 

"Well, I don't know about Aunt Sophy, " I replied; "but I hope she wouldbe very sorry. "

"Ah! well, you needn't be nervous, Nat, for I don't think the Malays aresuch bloodthirsty fellows as people say; and our captain here, in spiteof his fierce aspect, is very gentlemanly and pleasant. "

I could not help looking at our captain, whom Uncle Dick calledgentlemanly, for to my eyes he seemed to be a fierce savage, with hisscarlet kerchief bound round his head, beneath which his dark eyesseemed to flash angrily. 

"Shall you keep your loaded gun with you always, uncle, while we arewith these people?" I said. 

"No, my boy, certainly not, " he replied; "and you may take it forgranted, Nat, that even the most savage people are as a rule inoffensiveand ready to welcome a white man as a friend, except where they havebeen ill-treated by their civilised visitors. As for the Malays, I havemet several travellers who have been amongst then and they all join insaying that they are a quiet superior race of people, with whom you maybe perfectly safe, and who are pleased to be looked upon as friends. "

"But I thought, uncle, " I said, "that they were very dangerous, and thatthose krises they wore were poisoned?"

"Travellers' tales, my boy. The kris is the Malay's national weaponthat everyone wears. Why, Nat, it is not so very long since everyEnglish gentleman wore a sword, and we were not considered savages. "

We had rather a long and tiresome voyage, for the prahu, though lightand large, did not prove a very good sea-boat. When the wind was fair, and its great sail spread, we went along swiftly, and we were seldom forlong out of sight of land, coasting, as we did, by the many islandsscattered about the equator; but it was through seas intersected byendless cross currents and eddies, which seemed to seize upon the greatprahu when the wind died down, and often took us so far out of ourcourse one day, that sometimes it took the whole of the next to recoverwhat we had lost. 

So far, in spite of the novelty of many of the sights we had seen, I hadmet with nothing like that which I had pictured in my boyish dreams ofwondrous foreign lands. The sea was very lovely, so was the sky atsunrise and sunset; but where we had touched upon land it was at portsswarming with shipping and sailors of all nations. I wanted to seebeautiful islands, great forests and mountains, the home of strangebeasts and birds of rare plumage, and to such a place as this it seemedas if we should never come. 

I said so to Uncle Dick one day as we sat together during a calm, tryingto catch a few fish to make a change in our food. 

"Wait a bit, Nat, " he said smiling. 

"Yes, uncle, but shall we see wonderful lands such as I should like?"

"You'll see no wonderful lands with giants' castles, and dwarfs andfairies in, Nat, " he replied smiling; "but before long I have no doubtthat I shall be able to show you beauties of nature glorious enough tosatisfy the most greedy imagination. "

"Oh! of course I did not expect to see any of the nonsense we read of inbooks, uncle, " I said; "only we have been away from home now threemonths, and we have not got a single specimen as yet, and I want tobegin. "

"Patience, my boy, patience, " he said. "I am coming all this distanceso as to get to quite new ground. So far we have not landed on a tropicisland, for I shall not count civilised Singapore; but very soon weshall take to our own boat and coast along here and there, landing wherewe please, and you shall have nature's wonders and natural history toyour heart's content. Look there, " he said softly; "there is abeginning for you. Do you see that?"

He pointed down into the gloriously blue clear water, illumined by thesunshine, which made it flash wherever there was the slightest ripple. 

"Yes, I can see some lovely little fish, uncle, " I said. "Why, they areall striped like perch. There's one all blue and scarlet. Oh! I wishI could catch him. "

"No, no; farther down there, where those pink weeds are waving on thatdeep-brown mass of coral. What's that?"

"Why, it's a great eel, uncle. What a length! and how thin! How it iswinding in and out amongst the weed! Is it an eel?"

"No, Nat; it is a snake--a sea-snake; and there is another, and another. They are very dangerous too. "

"Are they poisonous, then?" I said. 

"Extremely. Their bite is often fatal, Nat, so beware of them if everyou see one caught. "

We had a fine opportunity for watching the movements of these snakes, for several came into sight, passing through the water in that peculiarwaving manner that is seen in an eel; but a breeze springing up soonafter, the sail filled out, and once more we glided rapidly over thebeautiful sea. 

I call it beautiful sea, for those who have merely looked upon the oceanfrom our own coasts have no conception of the grandeur of the tropicseas amongst the many islands of the Eastern Archipelago, where thewater is as bright as lapis lazuli, as clear as crystal, and thepowerful sun lights up its depths, and displays beauties of submarinegrowth at which the eye never tires of gazing. 

It used to worry me sometimes that we had not longer calms to enable meto get down into the little boat and lie flat, with my face as close tothe water as I could place it, looking into what was to me a new world, full of gorgeous corals and other Zoophytes, some motionless, others allin action. Scarlet, purple, blue, yellow, crimson, and rich ruddybrown, they looked to me like flowers amongst the singular waving weedsthat rose from the rocks below. 

Here fishes as brilliant in colours, but more curious in shape, than thepets of our glass globes at home, sailed in and out, chasing the insectsor one another, their scales flashing every now and then as they turnedon one side or dashed up towards the surface and leaped clean out of thewater. 

In some places the sand was of a beautiful creamy white and as pure ascould be, Uncle Dick saying that it was formed out of the corals whichwere being constantly pounded up by the waves. 

But whenever the breeze rose I had to be quickly on board again, and onwe sailed till, after a long dreamy voyage, we came one morning in sightof some mountains; and as we drew nearer I could see that the rocks rosestraight up from the sea, which, calm as it was, sent up columns ofspray where the waves broke upon the solid stone. 

"There, Nat, " said my uncle, "that is our present destination. "

"What! that rocky place, uncle?" I said, with a tone of disappointmentin my voice. 

"Yes, my quick young judge, " he said laughing. "Wait till we get closerin, " he continued, using his glass; "or no, you can see now; look, Nat. "

He handed me the glass, and as I looked through, my heart seemed to givea great throb, for the lovely picture I gazed upon seemed to more thanrealise my dreams. 

For what at a distance looked to be a sunlit rocky shore, proved throughthe glass to be a land with lovely shaped trees growing to the edges ofthe cliffs, which were covered with wonderful shrubs and creepers. Eventhe rocks looked to be of beautiful colours, and every here and there Icould see lovely little bays and nooks, edged with glistening whitesand, upon which the crystal water played, sparkling like diamonds andsapphires in the sun. 

"Oh, uncle!" I cried. 

"Well, Nat, will that place do for a beginning?"

"How soon can we get ashore?" I cried excitedly in answer. 

"In a couple of hours, now, Nat; but I said will this place do?"

"Oh, uncle!" I cried, "it was worth coming all the way to see. I couldwander about there for months. Shall I get the guns out of the cases?"

"Gently, gently, " he said laughing; "let's get into harbour first. "

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. 

I FIND THE BLACK WAYS STRANGE. 

We were not very long in getting to the harbour, a snug landlocked covewhere the great prahu in which we had come could lie well protected fromthe rollers. Our passage in was made easy, as the great sails werelowered by the men in a couple of canoes, who paddled out, shouting andsinging, and splashing the water; and then, after ropes had been madefast to their sterns, they paddled away again, drawing us steadilyinshore. 

I began to wonder directly whether these would be anything like thesavages who came to Robinson Crusoe's island; but a moment's reflectiontold me that Juan Fernandez was supposed to be his island, and that wason the other side of the world. 

"Well, Nat, what do you think of our visitors?" said my uncle, as Ileaned over the prow of our vessel and watched the men in the canoe. 

"I was thinking, uncle, that it can't cost them much for clothes, " Isaid, laughing. 

"No, Nat, " he replied, joining in my mirth; "but do you see howdifferent they are to our sailors here?"

"Yes, they are blacker, uncle, and have different shaped noses, andtheir hair curls instead of being straight. "

"Good!" he exclaimed; "that's the way to become a naturalist. Observeeverything. You are quite right; we are going to leave one race of mennow, Nat, the Malays, to travel amongst the Papuans, a people who arewonderfully different in every way. "

I felt a little nervous at first on going ashore, for we were surroundedby quite a crowd of fierce-looking blacks, all chattering, gesticulating, and pressing on us in their eagerness to get close up, but I soon found that it was only excitement and delight at seeing usamong them, and that they wanted to barter ornaments and shells, fortobacco and sugar, or knives. 

They were just like children, and though, had they been so disposed, they could have overpowered us and taken possession of everything wepossessed in an instant, nothing seemed farther from their thoughts. 

The captain of the prahu came ashore with us, and we explained to one ofthe chief men that we wanted to have a hut on shore and stay with themfor a time, and his countenance expanded into a broad grin of pleasure, one which seemed to increase as we both shook hands with him, and unclegave him a handful of tobacco, and I a small common one-bladed knife. 

He looked at both in turn, and then seemed puzzled as to what he oughtto give us in exchange, while, when he was made to understand that theywere presents and nothing was wanted back, he attached himself to us, and very soon we found ourselves the possessors of a very dark, littlewell-thatched hut, with no windows, and nothing to close the door, butit answered our purpose in giving us shelter, and to it the chiefwillingly helped with a couple of dozen of his men, in getting ourchests, boxes, and stores. 

The next thing was to find a place for our boat, which was towed ashorebehind a canoe; and on the chief understanding the want, he very soonpointed out to us a shady nook where it could be run ashore and beachedin safety, away from the waves, he helping himself to make the rope fastto a large cocoa-nut tree. 

This done, the chief walked, or rather strutted, round our boat, andlooked under it, over it, and about it in all directions, makinggrimaces expressive of his disgust, and ending by kicking its sides andmaking derisive gestures, to show that he thought it a very poor boatindeed. 

The prahu was going away the next day, so a busy scene of trading wenton till night, when the captain sought us out, and in his broken Englishenquired very earnestly whether we had landed everything, includingsundry stores which my Uncle Dick had purchased of the Scotch merchantsat Singapore, they being able to tell him what was most likely to findfavour amongst the savages with whom we should have to deal. 

In answer to a question, the Malay captain assured us that we might feelquite safe amongst the Ke islanders, and also with those in the Aru andneighbouring isles; but he said that he would not trust the men of NewGuinea, unless it was in a place where they had never seen white menbefore. 

He promised to be on the look-out for us as he was trading to and froduring the next year or two, for my uncle assured him that we should beabout that time among the islands, and with the promise to meet us herein a year's time if we did not meet before, and to come from Singaporeprovided with plenty of powder and shot for our use, and ready to takeback any cases of specimens we might have ready, he parted from us withthe grave courtesy of a Mohammedan gentleman. The next time we saw himwas in the morning, as he waved his scarlet headkerchief to us from thedeck of his prahu, which was floating away on the current, there beingbarely wind enough to fill the sails. 

Some very beautifully shaped canoes filled with the naked blackislanders paddled out for some little distance beside the prahu, singingand shouting, and splashing the sea into foam with their paddles, makingit sparkle like diamonds in the glorious morning sunshine. 

But after a while my uncle and I, in spite of the delightful sensationof being ashore in such a glorious climate, began to feel so very humanthat we set to and made a fire; then I fetched water from a spring inthe rock that ran over in a cascade towards the sea, and after riggingup three pieces of bamboo, gypsy fashion, the kettle soon began to sing, the coffee was measured out, a box dragged outside the hut door to actas a table, and just as the canoes approached the shore we began uponbiscuit, a couple of toasted red herrings, of which we got a couple ofboxes at Singapore, and what seemed to me the most delicious cup ofcoffee I had ever tasted. 

"There, " uncle said to me at last, "we are regularly launched now, Nat. Those Malays were not savages, but people of law and order. Now we areleft alone in the wilds indeed. "

"Yes, uncle, and here come the black fellows, " I said with my mouth fullof biscuit. 

In fact, as soon as they had run their beautiful canoes up on to thesands they were starting in a body to come and look at us; but there wasa loud shout and some gesticulating, and we saw one tall savageflourishing a spear, when they all went off in other directions, whilethe savage with the spear came sidling towards us in a slow, awkwardway, keeping his face turned in the opposite direction, but graduallycoming nearer. 

"I hope he does not mean to throw that spear at us, Nat, " said my uncle. "Where did the others go?"

"They seemed to go into the woods there, " I said. 

"Humph! And they might get round to the back of our hut, " said myuncle, looking rather uneasy. "But we will not show any distrust. Haveyou recognised that chief this morning?"

"I think this is he, uncle, " I said, "but I can't see his face. "

"Well, we will soon see, " said my uncle, as we went on with ourbreakfast, and kept on watching the black till he came about fifty yardsaway, apparently searching for something amongst the shrubs and plantswith the handle of his spear. 

"Shout at him, Nat, " said my uncle. 

"Eh?"

The savage must have seen us from the first, but he looked up, thendown, then turned himself and _gazed_ in every direction but that inwhich we were; and I shouted again, but still he would not look our way. 

"He is shamming, Nat, like a very bashful boy, " said Uncle Dick. "Hewants us to ask him to breakfast. Hallo! Get my rifle, Nat; I can seea lot of heads in the trees there. No, sit still; they are only boys. "

The savage evidently saw them at the same moment, for he made a rushtowards the dark figures that were stealing from tree trunk to treetrunk, and we saw them dash away directly out of sight, after which thesavage came sidling in our direction again. 

"Hi!" I shouted, as the childish pantomime went on, and the savagestared in all directions as if wonder-stricken at a strange noise cominghe knew not whence, and ending by kneeling down and laying his ear tothe ground. 

"Hi!" I shouted again; but it was of no use, he could not possibly seeeither us, our chest, our fire, or the hut, but kept sidling along, staring in every direction but the right. 

"Go and fetch him, Nat, while I toast another bloater. We'll give himsome breakfast, and it will make him friendly. "

I got up and went off, wondering what Uncle Joe and Aunt Sophia wouldhave said to see me going to speak to that great spear-armed savage, andfor a moment I wondered what would happen if he attacked me. 

"Uncle Dick would shoot him dead with his rifle, " I said to myself byway of comfort, and I walked boldly on. 

Still he would not see me, but kept sidling on till I got close up tohim and gave him a smart spank on his naked shoulder. 

In an instant he had spun round, leaped to a couple of yards away, andpoised his spear as if to hurl. Then, acting his astonishment withgreat cleverness, his angry countenance broke up into a broad smile, heplaced his spear into the hollow of his left arm, and stepped forward toshake hands, chattering away eagerly, though I could not understand aword. 

"Come and have some breakfast, " I said, and he chattered again. "Comeand have some breakfast, " I shouted; and then to myself: "How stupid Iam! He can't understand. "

So I took him by the arm, and pointed towards where my uncle waswatching us with his rifle leaning against the table; and I knew that hemust have been looking after my safety. 

The savage stared here and there and everywhere, but he could not see myuncle till I dragged him half-way to the fire and pointed again, when heuttered a shout of surprise, as much as to say, "Well, who would havethought of seeing him there!"

He then walked up with me, grinning pleasantly, shook hands, and lookedastonished as we pointed to the ground for him to sit down. 

He seated himself though, at last, after sticking his spear in the sandyearth, and then watched us both as I spread some salt butter out of apot on a piece of biscuit, and then handed him over some hot coffee, which I made very sweet, while my uncle, after shaking hands, had goneon toasting the bloater upon a stick of bamboo. 

"Don't give him the coffee too hot, Nat, " said my uncle. "There, that'sdone, I think. "

"I could drink it myself, uncle, " I replied, and we placed the foodbefore our guest, pointing to it, but he kept on shaking his head, andput his hands behind him. 

"Perhaps he thinks it is not good, uncle, " I said, after we had severaltimes partaken of our own to set him an example. 

"Or that it is poisoned, " said my uncle. "Taste it to show him it isgood, Nat. "

I took up the tin mug of coffee and tasted it twice, then broke a pieceoff the biscuit, put a little of the herring upon it, and ate it, thesavage watching me closely the while. 

Then his face broke into a broad smile once more, and he made believe tohave suddenly comprehended that the food was meant for him, for, takinga good draught of the coffee, he leaped up, tossing his arms on high, and danced round us, shouting with delight for quite a minute before hereseated himself, and ate his breakfast, a good hearty one too, chattering all the while, and not troubling himself in the least that wecould not understand a word. 

"I'm sorry about one thing, Nat, " my uncle said. "He would not eat thatfood because he was afraid that it was poisoned. "

"Well, wasn't that right of him, uncle?" I said, "as we are quitestrangers. "

"Yes, my boy; but it teaches us that he knows what poison is, and thatthese savages may make use of it at times. "

Our black guest looked at us intently whenever we spoke, and seemed tobe trying to comprehend what we said, but began to laugh again as soonas he saw that we observed him, ending by jumping up and shaking handsagain, and pointing to the rifle, seizing his spear, holding it up tohis shoulder, and then making a very good imitation of the report withhis mouth. 

He then pointed to a bird flying at a distance, and laughed and noddedhis head several times. 

"That relieves us of a little difficulty, Nat, " said my uncle. "TheMalay captain seems to have told him why we have come; but there isanother difficulty still, and that is about leaving our stores. "

"It seems to me, uncle, that what we ought to do first is to learn thelanguage. "

"Yes, Nat, and we must. It would be more useful to us now than yourLatin and French. "

"Yes, uncle, and we shall have to learn it without books. Hallo! what'she going to do?"

CHAPTER NINETEEN. 

OUR VERY BLACK FRIEND. 

The reason for my exclamation was that our visitor suddenly began todrag the chest we had used for a table into the hut, and after this hecarried in the kettle, and two or three other things that we had hadout, the rifle included; after which, as we watched him, he patted usboth on the chest to call our attention to what he was going to do, and, picking up his spear, he thrust it down into the ground close up to thedoorway, its point standing up above the thatch. 

"What does he mean by that, uncle?" I asked. 

"I think I know, Nat, " he replied; "but wait a minute. This fellow isno fool. "

For after calling our attention to what he was going to do, he ran offinto the jungle; and as we watched the spot where he had disappeared, hepeered at us from behind a tree trunk, then from another, and another, popping up in all sorts of out-of-the-way places where we least expectedto see him, and then suddenly creeping out on hands and knees from amongsome bushes, raising his head every now and then as if looking to see ifhe was watched, and again crawling on towards the hut. 

Just in the midst of the pantomime he became aware of what we had seenbefore, about a dozen boys coming cautiously through the forest, when, jumping up in a rage, he dashed at them, and they disappeared, he afterthem, to come back panting and continue his performance, hiding andcreeping out again, and going nearer and nearer to the hut. 

"I say, uncle, isn't this all nonsense?" I said. 

"No, my boy. He can't talk to us to make us understand, so he is tryingto show us something by signs. "

As he spoke the black crept on and on, rising to his knees and peeringround to see if he was watched, and at last, having arrived within halfa dozen yards of the hut, he rose and made a dash for the door, makingbelieve to see the spear, stuck up there like a sentry, for the firsttime, and then stopping short, uttering a howl of dread, and shiveringall over as he crept crouching away, holding out his hands behind him asif to ward off a blow. 

Then suddenly springing up, he ceased acting, looked at us, and laughed. 

"Why, what does he mean, uncle?" I said. 

"I know, " said Uncle Dick quickly; and pointing to some of the savagesdown on the shore he went up to the door of the hut, and made as if togo in, but stopped and pointed again to the savages at a distance. 

The black nodded and laughed, danced about with delight, and thenpointing to the savages himself he ran to the door, and came shiveringand crouching away once more as if too much alarmed to go in. 

"It is all right, Nat, " said my uncle; "he is evidently a chief, and hemeans that no one will dare go into the hut while his spear is stuckthere. We have made a friend. "

All this time the savage was looking sharply from one to the other, asif to make sure that we comprehended him; and then, seeing that we did, he made signs for us to follow him, talking excitedly the while. 

We walked with him to a grove of cocoa-nut trees, passing a number ofthe people as we passed through, but no one attempted to follow us; andafter about a quarter of an hour's walk he led us to a roughly-builtpalm-thatched shed, where we could hear the sounds of chopping andhammering, and on entering we found, to our surprise, that the shed wasfar larger than we had expected, and that in it were four men busy atwork making a boat similar to one that lay there evidently but latelybuilt. 

Our new friend pointed to the finished boat, and we looked it over atonce to find that it was beautifully made and perfect, with its oars, anchor, mast, and sail, and finished with such neatness that I began towonder what tools the man must use, while my wonder was increased uponmy uncle pointing out to me the fact that there was not a single nail inthe whole boat, which was entirely put together by means of wooden pegs, and fastened with thin bands of rattan cane. 

The black noticed our appreciation of the boat, and had we felt anydoubt before of his power, it was silenced at once, for, giving hisorders, the boat was half carried, half run down over the soft sand outinto the pure blue water, when he signed to us to enter, leaped inafterwards, and we were run right out by the men. 

The breeze was light, but strong enough for the boat, and the sail beinghoisted, away we went upon the long rollers, rising and falling soeasily that I could not help thinking how clever these islanders mustbe. 

"Why, Nat, " said my uncle, "we ought to have waited until we came here, for this boat is worth a dozen of the one I bought. It is so light andbuoyant, and suited to the seas we are on. It will hold quite as muchas our own, and be stronger and far easier to manage. "

All this time the black was watching him intently, striving tounderstand his words, but shaking his head in a disappointed manner fromtime to time. 

We had a fair trial of the boat, and became each minute bettersatisfied. Sometimes my uncle steered, sometimes I, and always to findthat the light vessel went over the roughest rollers like a cork, andwithout shipping a drop of water. 

My uncle managed as well that we should run along the coast, so as tosee something of the country, with the result that I grew quite excitedby my desire to land and see some of the wonders of the place; and atlast the boat's head was put about and we ran back. 

Now, however, the black chief took the rudder in hand, and ran us ashoreon the top of a great roller, which left us high and dry upon the softwhite sand, our companion jumping out and pulling us beyond reach of thenext wave with the greatest ease. 

The spot he had chosen was close to the boat we had brought fromSingapore, up to which our companion had walked, kicking it with a lookof contempt; and I must say that I could not help feeling ashamed of therough, common, clumsy-looking thing, after our ride in that from whichwe had just disembarked. 

Just then our companion shouted, and half a dozen blacks came racing andclattering to our side, taking charge of the boat, while we walked up tothe hut, not without some misgivings as to the state of its contents. 

It was quite evident, though, that no one had been near it, and ourcompanion, with a look of consequence that was very comical in a nakedsavage, took up his spear and stood aside while we entered and obtainedour guns and ammunition. 

At this, however, he made signs indicative of his displeasure, shakinghis head and pointing to the boat and then to our stores. 

"I shall have to trade for the boat, " said my uncle; "and to tell thetruth, Nat, I don't feel at all unwilling. "

So setting to, there was a long pantomime scene, in which my uncleoffered the black chief our heavy, clumsy boat for the new, light, canoe-like vessel we had tried. 

The offer was refused with a show of disgust, but not so great as Iexpected; for, as I afterwards found, there were iron and copperfittings in our boat that were looked upon by the islanders as a greatacquisition. So then my uncle proceeded to lay in the boat a bit at atime the additions that he would give in exchange, his offeringsconsisting of showy cloth, brass wire, and axes, till the chief wassatisfied and the boat was our own, after which he made signs for us toget our guns, and we started inland for our first shooting expedition, Iwith my pulses throbbing, and every nerve in a state of tension as Iwondered what would be the first gloriously feathered trophy that Ishould secure. 

CHAPTER TWENTY. 

AMONGST NATURE'S TREASURES. 

It was a land of marvels to me, as now for the first time I saw in alltheir beauty the tall cocoa-nut trees and other palms, like vast ferns, towering up on their column-like stems and spreading their enormousfeathery leaves so gracefully towards the earth. Then after a few stepswe came upon bananas, with their long ragged leaves and mighty clustersof curiously-shaped fruit, with hundreds of other trees, such as I hadnever even heard of before, and among which, every now and then, weheard the sharp harsh cry of some bird of the parrot tribe. 

These cries set us both on the _qui vive_, but though we walked for somelittle distance we did not obtain a shot nor see a single bird, but wefound that there was plenty of forest land full of vast trees with hereand there patches of beautiful undergrowth, so that, as Uncle Dick said, it was only a matter of time. 

"I feel as excited over it, Nat, as you seem to be, my boy; for it isintensely interesting always to me, this search for unknown birds. What's that?"

We stopped to listen, but could not make out what the noise was thatkept falling upon our ears. It was a kind of soft pleasant croak, ending in a kind of deep hum, sometimes coming from one direction, sometimes from another. 

"It can't be a bull-frog, Nat, for we are not near any marsh or water asfar as I can see. "

"Are there tree bull-frogs, uncle?" I said, "because that noise comesout of one of the tall trees. Oh! look, there's a big bird, " I cried, and raising my gun I took quick aim and fired, when far above us therewas a heavy flapping noise of wings amongst the trees, and then silence. 

"A miss, or a hit too weak to bring him down, Nat, " said my unclesmiling. "Better luck next time. Load again, my boy. "

I hastily reloaded, and we went on again, rising higher and higher oververy difficult ground; and then we entered another grove of high treesand heard the same soft croaking noise as before. 

"Pigeons, Nat, without doubt, " said my uncle. "No other birds, I think, would have made that curious flapping of the wings. "

"But that bird I shot at was too big for a pigeon, uncle, " I replied. 

"You'll find pigeons out here, Nat, four times as big as you have seenat home. Look, my boy, on the top branches of that great tree there isquite a cluster of them. Steal up softly; you round that way, I will gothis. We shall one of us get a shot, I dare say. "

I made a little circuit in obedience to my uncle's orders, and we creptup softly towards where a huge tree rose like a pillar to a tremendousheight before sending out a branch, and there, just dimly seen in thesoft twilight beneath the canopy of leaves, were several huge birds, which took flight with a great rattle of wings as we came near. 

There was the quick report of my uncle's gun, closely followed by mine, and one bird fell heavily to the ground, the others disappearing fromview beyond the trees; but just then our companion uttered a shout anddashed on ahead, to return in a few minutes with a second bird which hisquick eyes had detected as wounded, and he had seen it drop into a treesome distance off, and then fall, to lead him a long chase before hesecured it and brought it back. 

Meanwhile we were both kneeling beside the first, which had fallen in apatch of open ground where the sun came down, and I shall never forgetthe delight with which I gazed at its wonderfully beautiful plumage. 

"A pigeon, you see, Nat, " said my uncle; "and a fine one too. "

"Is that a pigeon, uncle?" I said wonderingly. 

"To be sure it is, my boy, and--"

_Crack_!

"That was a thrush, if I am not mistaken. "

I ran and picked up a bird that he shot in the middle of his speech, asit flew over some low bushes, and brought it back in triumph. 

"No, uncle, it is not a thrush, " I cried. "It is a lovely blue and greybird. "

"What is it, then, Nat?" he said, smiling. "Have you forgotten all Itold you about the representatives of our home birds being bright incolour?"

"But I did not think a thrush could be all of a lovely pale blue, uncle, " I said; "and I never saw such a pigeon as that. Why, its backand wings are almost as green as those cuckoos--the trogons--and whatbeautiful feet and eyes! Oh! uncle, " I said, "I am glad we came. "

He smiled as he knelt down and carefully smoothed the feathers of thegreat pigeon, thrusting a little cotton-wool into its beak to soak upany moisture that might escape and damage the feathers. 

"We shall, I believe, find plenty of magnificent pigeons out here, Nat, "he said, as I eagerly watched his acts, so as to know what to do nexttime. 

"But I never expected to find pigeons, uncle, with gold and violetreflections on their feathers. "

"Why not, Nat, " he replied laughing, "when in dull, foggy old England, where there is so little sunshine, the pigeons and doves have beautifuliris-like reflections on their necks and breasts? Now for the thrush. There, Nat, that is a beauty. I should have felt that I had done a goodday's work if I had only secured that dainty prize with its delicatelyharmonious coat of soft grey and blue. "

"And it is a thrush, uncle?"

"Certainly. Look at the beak. This is one of the Pittas orground-thrushes, Nat, of which there are a good many out in theseislands. Some of them are, I believe, much more brightly coloured thanthis; but bright plumage is not all we want, my boy; it is newspecimens, Nat. We must be discoverers as well as collectors. "

By this time the lovely thrush was hung with the two pigeons carefullyby the beaks to a long bamboo, and after we had explained to our blackcompanion, by means of a little dumb-show, that he must carry the bamboocarefully, a task which, after a few skips and bounds to show hisdelight, he undertook to perform. We went on again, trusting to him tofind the way back through the wilderness of great tree trunks, some ofwhich rose, without a branch, to a vast height above our heads, but onlyto make up for it afterwards, for the branches then clustered so thicklythat all the sunshine was shut out, and we walked in the deep shadow, save where here and there we found an opening which looked quitedazzling by contrast. Here it was that we found flowers growing, andsaw traces enough of insects to make us determine to bringcollecting-boxes another time, on purpose to obtain the glorious beetlesand butterflies that we saw here and there. 

"Look, uncle, " I cried; "there's another, and another. Oh, if I had mybutterfly-net!"

For I kept seeing beetles of dazzling lustre, and butterflies markedwith such brilliant colours, that I was ready to throw down my gun andrush off in chase. 

"Yes, this is a better collecting ground than Clapham Common, Nat, " saidmy uncle. "We ought to have plenty of pinning out to do to-morrownight. To-day I hope to be busy enough making skins. Hist! Look atthe black. "

I had just time to save the bamboo with the birds from being thrown downupon the ground by our companion, who went upon hands and knees, andcrawled forward a short distance to the shelter of some bushes at theedge of a bright opening, where the sun poured down like showers ofsilver light. 

"He has found something, " I whispered. 

"Then you run forward, Nat, and see. Be cool, and take a good quickaim. I'll mind the birds. "

He took the bamboo, and I ran forward to where the black was waving meon; but went more cautiously as I drew nearer, and a few moments later Iwas crouching in the shadow of the bushes at the edge of the opening, watching the objects at which the black was pointing. 

I knew by means of my ears what birds he had found, before I caughtsight of them, for every now and then a harsh shrill scream was uttered, and before long I could see across the opening quite a little flock ofbeautiful scarlet lories busily feeding on the clustering fruit of atall forest tree, which, being close to the sunny opening, was coveredwith leaves and twigs, from the top to the very ground. 

I was so utterly taken up by the beauty of the sight that I forgot allabout my gun, but knelt there watching the lovely little long-tailedbirds, climbing by the help of their beaks, in and out amongst thebranches, sometimes hanging by their strong curved bills, sometimes headdownwards by one or both legs, and always busily hunting for food. 

I had seen stuffed specimens before, but they seemed so poor andcommon-looking beside the velvety softness and brilliant colouring ofthese smooth-feathered, lively, rounded birds, and I kept on enjoyingthe sight to so great an extent that I am sure the flock would haveescaped had not my black companion shook my arm violently, and pointedto my gun, when, recalling the object of my journey, I raised it, tookcareful aim, and fired. 

There was a shrill cry from the birds, and the flock took flight, butnot until I had managed to get another shot, the result being that Isecured three very beautiful specimens to take back to my uncle, showingthem to him with a glow of pride. 

"I want to be of some use, uncle, " I said, for I had been afraid that hewould think I could not shoot. 

"Use, Nat! why, you shot one of those pigeons this morning. "

"Did I, uncle?" I said. 

"To be sure, my boy. At all events I did not, so it must have beenyou. "

He was delighted with the three specimens I had secured, and saying thatthese would be as many as he could comfortably preserve that day, wewent on exploring more than collecting, in what was to me quite afairyland of wonders. 

Perhaps long confinement on shipboard had something to do with it; butall the same, every place we came to had its beauties of some kind oranother. Now it was a noisy stream leaping from the rocks in a featherycascade; at another time, a grove full of curious orchids. Every nowand then some lovely butterfly would start from flower or damp spot inthe openings, but it was of no use to chase them then, my uncle said, for we had no means of preserving them. 

"Let's collect, Nat, " he said, "and make a splendid set of cases ofbirds and insects; but let's have no wanton destruction. I hate to seebirds shot except for a purpose. "

"We shall have to look out, uncle, " I said, laughing, "for it is hardenough work to walk on this ground; I don't know how we shall run. "

In fact, when we got back to our hut, after shooting a couple morepigeons, our shoes were showing already how sharp the rocks were thatformed a great part of the ground over which we tramped. 

I almost wondered at my uncle shooting two more pigeons, as we hadalready a couple, but I found out the reason when we reached home, as wecalled it, to find that everything was in its place; no one apparentlyhaving entered the hut, from which our black guide now took his spear, and without another word hurried away. 

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. 

FEEDING IN THE WILDERNESS. 

"I hope Master Ebony is not offended, " said my uncle, wiping his face. "Perhaps it is only his way. Now, Nat, get some sticks and make a goodfire, while I lay the cloth and cook. That's the evil of being alone, we have to prepare and cook for ourselves; but we'll have a treatto-day. "

I soon had a fire burning, and then watched Uncle Dick as with sharpknife and clever fingers he quickly skinned the four pigeons, placingtheir skins where they would not dry, and then busying himself over thebirds. 

"Won't you have some dinner first, uncle?" I said, for I was terriblyhungry. 

"First? No, my boy, not till we have cooked it. You don't want to eatyour birds raw, do you?"

"What! are you going to eat those--those--"

"Pigeons?" he said, as I hesitated. "To be sure, Nat; why not? Do yousuppose that because birds have bright feathers they are not good toeat?"

"Well, no, uncle, " I replied, as I thought of pheasants, and that at onetime people used to eat the peacock; "but these birds have greenfeathers. " It was a very stupid remark, but it seemed the only thing Icould then say. 

"Ah! they'll be none the worse for that, my boy, " he said, laughing, ashe removed the birds' crops on to a great leaf which I held for him. "We'll examine those after dinner, Nat, so as to see on what the birdsfeed. If I'm not mistaken they eat the large fruit of the nutmeg forone thing. "

"Then they ought to taste of spice, uncle, " I said, laughing. 

"Wait a bit, Nat, and you'll see how good these fruit-pigeons are. Now, cut with that great jack-knife of yours a good sharp pair of bambooskewers, or spits, and we'll soon have the rascals roasting. We can'teat the insects, but we can the birds, and a great treat they will beafter so much shipboard food. "

"That they will be, uncle, " I said, as the pigeons, each quite double orthree times the size of one of our home birds, were stuck before thefire, and began to send out a nice appetising smell. 

"Then you won't be too prejudiced to eat them?" he said, laughing. 

"Oh, uncle!" I said, "I'm so hungry I could eat anything now. "

"Well done, Nat. Well, my boy, as long as we get plenty of specimens toskin we sha'n't starve. Turn that skewer round. That's right; stick ittightly into the sand, and now let's have on a little more wood. Pickup those old cocoa-nut shells and husks, and put on, Nat. "

"Will they burn well?" I said. "I was afraid of putting out the fire. "

"Splendidly, my boy. The shells are full of oil, and will send out acapital heat. "

We were obliged to nibble a biscuit while we waited, and anxiouslywatched the frizzling and browning birds, for we were terribly hungry. 

"I hope they won't be long, uncle, " I said. 

"So do I, Nat, " he replied; "but what a splendid dining-room we have gotout here! Isn't it lovely, my boy, under this blue sky and shadingtrees?"

"Hundreds of times better than going to a picnic at Bushey Park, uncle, "I said. "But you talked of eating the birds we shot. Thrushes would begood, wouldn't they?"

"Delicious, Nat, only so very small. "

"But you wouldn't eat parrots, uncle, lories, and paroquets, and thesesort of birds?"

"Why not?" he replied, turning his skewer, while I imitated him, itseeming to be settled that we were each to have a couple of pigeons forour dinner. 

"I don't know why not, uncle, " I said thoughtfully, "only it seems soqueer to eat a Poll parrot;" and as I spoke I could not help thinking ofpoor Humpty Dumpty, and all the trouble I had had. "It seems queer, " Isaid again. 

"But why does it seem queer, Nat?" he said, smiling. "Come, my boy, youmust throw aside prejudices. "

"Well, you see, uncle, they have got such hooked beaks, " I said, in ahelpless sort of way. 

"Ha! ha! ha!" he laughed. "Why, what a reason, Nat! I might as wellsay I would not eat snipe, or woodcock, because it has such a longstraight beak. Turn your skewer, Nat. They are beginning to smellmaddeningly nice. They're as fat as butter. Nothing like a walk suchas ours to give you an appetite. There, take the big tin and go andfill it with Adam's ale. "

I ran to the rock pool and filled the tin with the cool clear water, andcame back to the fire. 

"They'll soon be done, Nat, " said my uncle. "Yes, my boy, I should eatparrots, and shall eat a good many, I hope. Why, look here, Nat, whatdo parrots eat?"

"Sop and seed and sugar, " I said. 

"Yes, when they are shut up in a cage at home, Nat; but fruit, my boy, in their native state. There, you may take that as a rule, that allbirds that live on seed or fruit are good for food. "

"And those that live on prey, uncle, are bad, " I said. 

"Well, no; that won't do, Nat. Parrots are delicious. I've eatendozens. And so are some birds that live on small prey--ducks and geese, for instance, eat a great many live things; and the birds that live oninsects are, some of them, very good. I think we may say birds of lightdiet are all good, and draw the line at all carrion or raptorial birds. I should not like to eat hawk, owl, or anything of the crow family; butthere is no knowing, Nat, what we might do if half-starved, and that'swhat I am now. Nat, my boy, the birds are done. Now for a gloriousfeast! I'm sure I shall pick the bones of my two. "

"And I'm sure I shall, uncle. I was never so hungry in my life. "

"Then now to begin, my boy; give me that tin plate and say grace, if weare in the wilds. What's become of all the savages?"

"Oh, uncle!" I cried, "here comes our guide. He wasn't offended. "

"Thunder!" cried Uncle Dick, with a comical look of disgust; "he hascome back to dinner. "

"Yes, uncle, " I groaned, as I looked at the pigeons; "and he has broughttwo great hungry fellows with him. "

"Fetch the guns, Nat, " cried my uncle in comical wrath; "let's fight indefence of our prey. No, don't; we must bribe them with biscuits togo. "

Uncle Dick looked at me in a miserably resigned way, and it all seemedso droll that these blacks should come up just as we were preparing forsuch a feast, that I leaned back against the cocoa-nut tree by the fireand laughed till I cried. 

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. 

COMPANY TO DINNER. 

I was wiping the tears from my eyes as Mr Ebony, as uncle called him, came up, carrying something in a great palm leaf, while his companionshad something else in a basket. 

Mr Ebony was grinning tremendously. Then he said something, and thetwo others went away, while our black guest, for that he evidently meantto be, sniffed at the pigeons, rubbed himself, and danced with delight. 

But we had wronged him, for he was not going to behave shabbily, for, taking the basket, he rolled out of it a dozen great fruit, half beingcocoa-nuts, the other something nearly as large that I had never seenbefore. 

Then he nodded and grinned, and had another bit of a dance beforeunrolling the huge palm leaf, and showing us four good-looking fishes, each twice as big as a large mackerel, and so fresh that one was hardlynow dead. 

Mr Ebony grinned and danced again, nodding at us both, and sayingsomething in his tongue which sounded to me like, "Now we'll have such ajolly tuck-out;" but of course it was not that, though it evidentlymeant as much. 

The next minute with wonderful skill our visitor had cut some bambooswith a kind of adze he had in the cord round his waist, slit open andcleaned the fish with a sharp-pointed piece of wood, and then got eachone stuck on a piece of bamboo to roast before the fire. 

He was like a man on springs; he did things so jerkily and quick, jumping up and rushing off, to come back laden with wood for the fire, some of which he carefully put on, and then nodded and grinned andrubbed himself. 

"Well, Mr Ebony, " said my uncle, smiling, "you are really not a badfellow after all; and as you have come to dinner in full dress I am veryglad to see you, and let's fall to. By all the rules of etiquette, mydear sir, soup comes first, sir. We have no soup. Fish follows next, but, my dear carbonaceous-looking friend, the fish is not done, whilethe pigeons are, so sit down. Nat, my boy, give our honoured guest atin plate and a biscuit. Monsieur Ebony--pigeon?"

As my uncle spoke he pulled up his bamboo spit, and, taking hold of thesandy end, he presented the other to our visitor, who took hold tightly, watching my uncle the while as he drew his hunting-knife, and, with adexterous chop, divided the bamboo in two, leaving each with a pigeon. 

"Come, Nat, boy, fall to. That other pigeon will have to be divided. "

Then there was silence as I helped myself to the great pigeon, and webegan to eat with such a sense of enjoyment as I never felt before; butwhen my uncle and I were half through our pigeons Mr Ebony had finishedhis, and was casting furtive glances at the one still frizzling andbrowning before the fire in company with the fishes, which our guestcarefully turned. 

"Give him the other pigeon, Nat, " said my uncle, "and we will make upwith fish;" so I offered it to our visitor, but he shook his head, andbegan chattering, pointing to the fish, which he kept turning; and assoon as one was done, looked with a good deal of natural politeness tosee if we were ready; but as we were not, he threw his bones over hishead--of course I do not mean his own bones, but the bones of thepigeon, which he had crunched up with his white teeth, like a dog, andbegan at once upon his fish. 

Leaving the fourth pigeon stuck upon the spit, we now in our turn eachtried a fish, which Uncle Dick said were a kind of perch, and verydelicious they were, especially with the addition of a little pepper, ofwhich, after the first taste, our visitor showed himself to be veryfond; and taken altogether, we made a most delicious repast, withoutthinking of the dessert which had yet to come. 

This our visitor commenced after he had eaten a second fish, chatteringaway to us, and opening the nuts with great skill, giving one to each ofus, so that for the first time I tasted what cocoa-nut really was like. Not a hard, indigestible, sweet, oily kind of woody kernel fast roundthe shell, so that it was hard to get it off; but a sweet, soft pulpthat we cut and scraped out like cream-cheese, while it had a refreshingslightly acid flavour that was most delicious. 

I never saw anyone before like our black friend, for no sooner did hesee by our looks that we enjoyed his cocoa-nuts than he jumped up anddanced, laughing with pleasure, but stopping every now and then to havea taste himself, till we had finished, when he took one of the othergreat nuts, which I saw were thorny, and marked down the sides withseams, as if ready for opening by means of a knife. 

"That is not cocoa-nut, is it, uncle?" I said, looking curiously at thegreat wooden fruit, as the black proceeded to split it open with hishatchet, inserting the blade very cleverly so as to get it open, withthe result that a very unpleasant odour arose. 

"It don't seem to be good, whatever it is, " said my uncle. "Why, itmust be the durian, Nat, " he said eagerly. "I wanted to see thatfruit. "

"But it does not seem good to eat, uncle, " I said, as I looked at theportion given to me, which appeared to be full of a kind of custard withbig seeds inside, about as large as a chestnut. 

"They say it is delicious, " he replied, helping himself to a little withthe blade of his knife. "Taste away. "

I tasted, and he tasted, the black watching us attentively; and nosooner did he see the face I made than he became tremendously excited, jumping about, making smacking sounds with his lips, and rubbing himselfto show how good it was. Then, still seeing that we did not get on, heopened another, and taking half began to eat rapidly, dancing about withdelight and rolling his eyes, to explain to us that he was having a mostdelicious feast. 

"Perhaps this is a better one, " said my uncle, stretching out his handfor the untouched half, but upon tasting it he did not find it sosatisfactory as that which we had, and we made a very poor dessert, asfar as the durian was concerned, greatly to our friend's chagrin. 

The meal being at an end, we each took a hearty draught of the purewater, and offered the tin to our guest, but he shook his head and kepton making signs as he cried out:

"Rack-rack-rack-rack!"

"What does he mean, uncle?" I said. "Look, he is pretending to poursomething into the water. He means arrack. "

"Yes, and he will not get any, Nat--neither arrack nor brandy. Thoseare for medicines, my boy; but go and get one of those small bottles ofraspberry vinegar, and I'll give him some of that. "

The black watched me intently as I fetched the little bottle of rich redsyrup, and kept his eyes upon his host, when, after emptying all butabout half a pint of water out of the tin, my uncle poured out atable-spoonful of the syrup into the clear water and stirred it up, offering it afterwards to the black, who took it, smelt it suspiciously, and then handed it to me. 

I drank a portion, and found it so good that I finished it, to ourguest's amazement and disgust; but the cup was soon replenished, and nowhe tasted eagerly, drinking it up, and then indulging in a fresh dance. 

"Now for work, " said my uncle. "Let's clear away, Nat;" and the remainsof the dinner having been carried into the tent, the box of requisiteswas brought out, and with the black squatting down upon his heels towatch us attentively, I helped Uncle Dick prepare his first skins. 

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. 

HOW TO PREPARE SKINS, AND GO FISHING. 

The process was very simple, for he took the thrush and the lories, inserted a sharp-pointed penknife just through the skin, and then withclever fingers turned the delicate skin back, taking care not to injurethe feathers either by the moisture of the bird's flesh or by handlingand roughening the plumage, the result being that he skilfully turnedthe skin inside out after cutting through the legs and wings, cleaningthe bones of flesh, and leaving in the skull, after stripping the birdright to the beak. 

It was surprising how beautifully clean everything came away, so thatwhen the fleshy side of the skin had been brushed over with moistenedarsenical soap, the wing-bones tied together, the hollow of the skulland orbits of the eyes filled up with cotton-wool, and a ball of thesame placed for the body, the skin being turned back over all andslightly shaken, a stranger would hardly have known that the flesh ofthe bird had been removed. 

There was no odour except the aromatic scent of the preserving soap; andwhen a little sugar-paper had been twisted up into which to thrust thebird's head and shoulders to keep the neck short, and the bird had lainin the sun for a few hours, it became quite stiff and dry, exactly likethe skins with which I was familiar. 

Uncle Dick insisted upon my doing the thrush and one of the lories, while he did the pigeons, whose skins were so tender, and so coveredwith oily fat, that they required a great deal of care to keep thefeathers unsullied. 

I set to work then, skinning my birds pretty readily from oldpractice, and after a little bungling I managed to make of themrespectable-looking skins. 

"You'll soon improve, Nat, " said my uncle, as we laid our specimens alltogether in the sun, the black nodding his approval at all we did; butthe skins had not been lying there long, and our hands washed previousto putting on the kettle for tea, before our new friend jumped up in agreat state of excitement, pointing to a reddish-brown streak thatseemed to run from the wood nearly to where our specimens lay. 

"Ants!" exclaimed my uncle, darting to the skins, and shaking off a fewof the enemies that had come to the attack; and it was not until we hadcontrived to make a little channel all round one of our boxes upon whichthe skins were laid, and connected it with the little spring of water, so that our treasure was surrounded by a tiny moat, that we could keepthe insects away. 

Our black friend, who was evidently a great chief among his people, madeno scruple about stopping to have some tea with us, watching the boilingof the kettle and our preparations with the greatest of curiosity, butalways in a calm, composed way. 

"It is rather a nuisance always having him here, Nat, " said my uncle;"but we should be bothered with a good many more if he were to go, andreally he does not seem a bad sort of fellow. "

He certainly was not, for though he ate heartily of anything we gavehim, he was as generous as could be, going off to return with men ladenwith fruit, fish, and a kind of sago, which was not at all bad boiled upand sweetened. 

I missed a good many things such as I had been used to, but so far itall seemed to be glorious fun, and that night I lay down to rest lookingthrough the open doorway at the stars, breathing the soft warm air, anddropping off into a delicious sleep, to dream of home, and Uncle Joe inhis garden, smoking his long clay pipe. 

I was awakened at daybreak by some one touching me, and on opening myeyes I started with dread as I saw a black face close to my own, and agrinning set of white teeth. 

I knew directly who it was, though, and getting up I saw that my unclewas still peacefully sleeping off the previous day's fatigue. 

I was going to rouse him, but Mr Ebony pulled me by the arm to comewithout waking him. 

My next movement was to get my gun; but again our black friend objected, pulling at me half angrily, and I accompanied him outside into the coolgrey morning. 

I hesitated to follow him for a minute, thinking that I ought not toleave my uncle; but I could not help thinking that we were quitehelpless amongst these savages if they chose to turn against us, andtherefore all we could do was to cultivate their good-will. 

Mr Ebony, whose black mop of hair stood out more fiercely than ever, was watching me attentively, scowling fiercely, as I thought; but assoon as I prepared to follow him he began to grin and chatter away tome, keeping on repeating the word "_Ikan-Ikan_, " till we were down inthe half darkness by where the waves lapped the sand; and now I saw agood-sized canoe with half a dozen men waiting, all looking, with theirpaddles in their hands, like so many fierce black executioners, preparedto make an end of me. 

Mr Ebony signed to me to get into the boat, and feeling that perhapsthey might be going to make a prisoner of me and take me to anotherisland, I asked myself whether I ought not to resist; but seeing howuseless it would be, I resigned myself to my fate, jumped into thecanoe, Mr Ebony followed; and with no singing and splashing now, but inutter silence, we pushed off over the grey sea. 

"Where are we going, I wonder?" I said to myself. 

"Ikan, Ikan, " said Mr Ebony, shaking something in the bottom of thecanoe. 

"Ikan! where's that, I wonder?" I said to myself. "Why, these arefishing-lines. Ikan, fish, " I exclaimed, pointing to the lines and thento the sea, making as if to throw in one of the lines. 

"Ikan, Ikan, " cried Mr Ebony, grinning with delight, and then hetouched my hands and the lines, and patted my back--dancing aboutafterwards till he nearly danced overboard, after which he became alittle more calm, but kept on smiling in the most satisfied way, andshouting "Ikan, Ikan;" all the others saying it after him, as if highlysatisfied, and when to please them I said "Ikan, Ikan, " they uttered ashout, and I felt quite at home, and delighted at having come. 

I don't know how it was, but as soon as I felt satisfied that they werenot going to do me any harm I began to learn how much they were all likea set of schoolboys of my own age, for big, strong, well-made men asthey were, they seemed to be full of fun, and as young as they could be. 

They paddled swiftly out and away from the land, working hard to sendthe great canoe well along over the long rollers that we seemed toclimb, to glide down the other side; and, with the exception of theheaving, slow rolling motion of the sea, all being deliciously calm, Ithoroughly enjoyed my ride, especially as Mr Ebony, who was evidently avery big man amongst his people, had taken a great liking to me and kepton drawing my attention to every splash on the surface of the water, andthen to the busy way in which he was preparing his coarse fishing-lines. 

I suppose there are some boys who never cared for fishing; but howevercruel it may be as a sport, I must confess that I was alwayspassionately fond of it, and now to be out on this tropic sea beforesunrise, with the stars seen faintly here and there, the blacks keepingup a rhythmical motion of the paddles, and the water lapping up againstthe bow of the canoe, I felt an indescribable kind of delight that nowords of mine will put on paper. 

I should think we paddled about a couple of miles, and then at a wordfrom Mr Ebony the paddles were all laid in, and a line, with its greatcoarsely-made hooks formed out of well-sharpened pieces of brass wire, was handed to me, my guide showing me how to throw it over the side; notthat I needed showing, for it seemed to come quite natural; and I beganto think, as I passed the line over, of the sticklebacks on ClaphamCommon, and the occasional carp that we schoolboys used to catch. 

Mr Ebony grinned with satisfaction, and threw his own line over theside just as a splash behind me made me turn in time to see a roperunning out rapidly, evidently attached to some kind of anchor. 

This checked the canoe, which was floating along so fast that it hadbegun to ride over our lines, which now, however, floated away upon theswift current. 

There was no noise or chattering now, but all the blacks sat or stoodvery quietly in the canoe, and I saw that three of them had long spears, barbed like hooks, and looking as if they were meant for catching fish. 

There was a good length of line in my hands, which I kept on paying out, as the sailors call it, just as Mr Ebony was letting out his till itwas nearly all gone, and I saw that the end was tied to the edge of thecanoe. But still there was no sign of any fish, and I was beginning tostare about me, for just then a patch of golden light seemed to startout into view, and I could see that the tops of the mountains in theisland were just catching the first rays of the sun, while the starsthat had been looking so pale seemed to go out quickly one afteranother. 

"I wonder whether Uncle Dick is awake yet, " I thought to myself, "andwhat he will say to my being away, and--"

An exclamation from my black companion brought me back from my dreamythoughts; not that it was necessary, for something else had roused me, and that was a sharp jerk at the line, which snatched it quite out of myhands, and had it not been fastened to the side of the boat I shouldhave lost it. 

Mr Ebony was coming to my help, but seeing me dart at it again and, catching hold, begin to haul in and struggle hard with my fish, herubbed himself and grinned, especially when he saw that I had to hang onwith all my might to keep from being dragged out of the canoe. 

The next moment he had enough to do to manage a fish that had taken hisbait, and to keep it from crossing my line so as to get them into atangle. 

It was quite startling for the moment to have hold of so strong a fish, one which darted here, there, and everywhere; now diving straight down, now running away out to sea, and then when I thought the line must snap, for it made tugs that cut my hands and jerked my shoulders, I uttered acry of disappointment, for the line came in slack, and the fish wasgone. 

It puzzled me to see how coolly the others took it, but I supposed thatthey were used to losing fish from the badness of their tackle, andbesides, there was evidently a big one on Mr Ebony's line to take theirattention. 

"I wonder whether he has taken the hook, " I thought to myself as Icarefully drew in the line, coiling it neatly down between my legs, yardafter yard, till I had pulled in at least fifty yards of the coarsecord, when, to my utter astonishment, there was a sudden check or rush, and the line began to run rapidly out again, my fish being still there, and I saw now that it had made a rush in towards the canoe, and thenlain quite still close to the bottom till I had disturbed it by jerkingthe line as I hauled it in. 

The rest that it had had seemed to have made it stronger than ever, forit darted about at a tremendous pace, and I was still playing it, letting it run when it made fierce dashes, and hauling in the linewhenever it grew a little slack, when there was a bit of a bustle by myside as Mr Ebony drew his fish close up to the side of the canoe, andone of the blacks darted a barbed spear into it and lifted it into thecanoe. 

It was a beautifully-marked fish about three feet long, and as I glancedat it I wondered whether mine would be as big; and then I thought itmust be bigger, it pulled with such tremendous force; but at last itsstruggles grew less and less powerful, and twice over I was able to drawit nearly to the surface, but only for it to dart away again, and Ithought it was lost. 

It seemed to excite a good deal of interest amongst the savages, two ofwhom stood, one on either side of me, ready with their spears to make athrust at the fish, and one of them stretched out his hand to take theline from me, but Mr Ebony uttered such a fierce exclamation, andcaught so angrily at a paddle, that the man drew back, and after a longand gallant fight I at last drew my fish so close in that, just as itwas in the act of dashing off again, a couple of spears transfixed it, and it was drawn over the side amidst a shout of triumph. 

Mr Ebony, who was the most excited of all, patting me on the shouldersand shaking hands most eagerly with one of the savages, took out thehook, the line was thrown over again, and I had time to examine myprize, a splendid fish, flashing with glorious colours in the morninglight. It was over a yard long, and very thick and round, while itsglistening scales were as big as shillings at the very least; in fact Idon't think I should exaggerate if I said that some in the centre rowswere as large as two-shilling pieces, fluted and gilded, and some tingedwith orange and glistening scarlet and green. 

So great was the delight of all on board that they began to dance andsing with such vigour that the canoe rocked about, and one man went headover heels out into the sea. 

I was horrified as I saw him disappear, but he was up again, grinninghugely, and slipped in over the side of the canoe like a great blackeel, giving himself a shake to send the water out of his mop of hair, and then sitting down to watch us fish. 

For quite half an hour now we caught nothing, but it did not seem tomatter, for there was so much to look at as the glorious sun rose overthe sea, turning it into orange and gold; while, when I was tired ofthat, the beauty of the trees and mountains on the island, with theendless changes of light and shade, made my heart beat with pleasure asI thought of what a lovely home these savages possessed, and it seemedto explain to me why it was that they were all so childlike and happy. 

I caught another fish then of seven or eight pounds weight, different tothe others, and Mr Ebony caught seven or eight quickly one after theother, I suppose out of a shoal, and then, laughing and chattering onceagain, the anchor, which proved to be a curious elbow, evidently theroot of a tree, sharped at its points and weighted with a lump of coral, was hauled up, placed in the stern of the canoe, and we turned for theshore. 

"What a morning for a bathe!" I thought, as we drew nearer; andstarting up in the canoe when we were about a quarter of a mile from theland, I began to take off my things, meaning to swim ashore, where wewere within a couple of hundred yards; but Mr Ebony stopped me, sayingsomething I could not understand of course. 

"I'm going to swim ashore, " I said, making believe to leap overboard, and then striking out with my arms; but my companions all chatteredangrily, and Mr Ebony, to my horror, came at me, snapping at my armsand legs with his great white teeth, and looking terribly fierce, while, as I shrunk away, one of the blacks touched me on the back, and as Iturned sharply, with Mr Ebony holding on to my trouser leg andapparently trying to tear out a piece, the black behind me pointed downinto the clear water, now brightly lit-up by the sun, and I saw two longgrey fish gliding slowly amongst the coral rocks, and I wanted notelling that they were sharks. 

I pointed to the sharks in my turn, shuddering as I thought of what anescape I had had; and not being able to express myself in language, Idid what Mr Ebony had done to me, made a dash at his leg and pretendedto bite it, not doing so, however, for I did not care to touch his greatblack limb with my teeth. 

He understood me, though, and chattered with delight, getting up andrelieving his feelings by a short dance before settling down again andshaking hands. 

In another minute the canoe was run up on the beautiful soft sand, thesavages leaping out into the shallow water and carrying it beyond reachof the waves, when I stepped out with Mr Ebony, who made one of the menpick up my fish and carry it before us in triumph to our hut, the otherstaking the rest of the fish towards the village. 

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. 

A BUTTERFLY HUNT. 

"Why, Nat, " cried my uncle, "I was beginning to be alarmed. Beenfishing, eh?" he said, as he shook hands with our black friend, who hadevidently made up his mind to stay breakfast; for, seizing the big fish, he snapped off a couple of great banana leaves upon which to lay it, andthe man who had carried it went away; but not until I had made him showhis teeth by giving him a couple of biscuits and a handful of sugar. 

I explained to my uncle how I had been carried off that morning, and myfeeling of alarm, and he nodded. 

"I don't think there is anything to be alarmed about, Nat, " he replied, "so long as we do not in any way touch upon their prejudices; but what asplendid fish, Nat, my boy! It must be a kind of mullet, I should say, by its soft mouth and the long barbs hanging from the corners of itschubby lips. Yes, that's what it must be; but I'm sorry to say that Iam very ignorant about fish. "

My uncle had not been idle, for he had made a good fire, the kettle wasboiling, and we should have begun breakfast at once if it had not beenfor Mr Ebony's preparations. He had lost no time, but had slit offsome great chunks of solid fish, placing them on great bamboo skewers toroast, washing his hands afterwards with great nicety, and then scoopingup the dry warm sand and letting it trickle over his fingers, palms, andwrists, until they were dry. 

"I have not been idle, you see, Nat, " said my uncle, pointing to a newlymade skin, that of a very lovely little green lory with a delicatepeach-coloured head, the separation from the green feathers being markedby a deep black collar which gave the bird a neatness and beauty thatwas very attractive to the eye. 

But Mr Ebony was not satisfied with his contribution to the breakfast, for, striking me on the breast, pointing to the fire, and saying, "Ikan, Ikan, youf, youf, " several times over, I repeated them to hissatisfaction, understanding that he meant I was to mind the fish, andthen he went off quickly. 

"Ikan, " said my uncle, "that's the Malay word for fish, so I supposethey use some Malay words though their language is quite different. "

"Then he said, `youf, youf, ' uncle. "

"Yes: youf must mean cooking or fire, which is api in the Malay tongue. But this fresh morning air gives me an appetite, Nat. I hope he won'tbe long; turn the fish, my lad, it's burning. "

"No, uncle, it's only brown, " I replied, altering the position of thegreat collops; "but how beautiful it smells!"

"Yes, Nat, we want no fish sauces out here, my boy. "

"Where did you shoot that beautiful lory, uncle?" I asked. 

"It was in that palm-tree close to us, Nat, " he replied; "and now, whilewe are waiting, I'll put together a few boxes and the butterfly-nets andthe cyanide bottle, ready for a start directly after breakfast. "

"Shall you take the guns, uncle?"

"Only one, Nat, and we'll carry it in turn, " he replied. "This is to bea butterfly and beetle day, so we will not go far in any direction, butkeep within reach of the camp so as to come back for food and rest. Itwill save us from having to carry provisions. "

Just then we saw Mr Ebony coming towards us loaded with a basket offruit, which he placed on the sand, and then after a dance round us heplumped down by the fire and picked out the skewers where the fish wasmost done, handing one to each, and our breakfast began. 

Mr Ebony thoroughly enjoyed his coffee with plenty of sugar, for he hadno distrust now, but ate and drank as we did, laughing and talking allthe while, and stopping every now and then to point to butterfly or birdthat went by, eating a prodigious breakfast, but mostly of fish andfruit. 

Breakfast over, as soon as he saw us ready for a start he stuck hisspear down again in front of the door, excited and eager to be off, andready to draw our attention to the fact that one of us had no gun. 

We pointed, however, to the butterfly-nets and that satisfied him, andwhen we were ready to start I suggested to my uncle that we should putthe uncooked remains of the fish and the fruit inside the hut so as tohave them when we came back. 

"To be sure, Nat, " he said, "I had forgotten them. "

But at the first attempt to remove them Mr Ebony stopped me, anduttered a loud, ringing cry, whose effect was to bring about a couple ofdozen little naked black boys out of the jungle, where they must havebeen watching us, safely hidden all the time. 

To these comical-looking little objects the chief said a few words, whenthere was a rush, and the remains from our breakfast were carried offlike magic, Mr Ebony pointing to the sea and to the trees as much as tosay, "There is plenty more when we want it. "

We were not long in getting to work, for no sooner were we in the denserpart of the island where the foliage grew thick and moist, than we wereastounded at the number of little lizards that swarmed about, dartinghere and there and puzzling me at first as to what colour they were. One moment they seemed to be bright green, the next like a wrigglingline of the most beautiful blue. 

I found out their colour, though, as soon as I had one in thebutterfly-net, for while their bodies were of a brilliant green, theirtails were a blue as pure as the sky. 

A couple of them were consigned to the spirit bottle for preservation, and then we tramped on, growing more and more delighted with the countrythe farther we went. 

For some time butterflies were absent, so we had to take to collectingbirds, but hardly had we shot three different kinds of parrots, all of amost lovely colour, than we seemed to tumble upon the butterflies, andin the course of that one day we captured some of the most lovelyspecimens I had ever seen out of a museum. Blue, yellow, black, crimson, no tint was wanting to make them attractive, and we went on forhour after hour, forgetting all about our dinner in the excitement ofthe chase, and filling our boxes before we thought of leaving off. 

Not only butterflies had been captured, but beetles of many kinds, mostof them clad in armour that seemed to have been burnished, so brilliantwere they in their green, purple, and violet when held up in the sun. 

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. 

WHY EBONY WOULD NOT SAY GOOD-BYE. 

It was with feelings full of regret that we said good-bye to our blackfriend at the end of a month; for by that time the want of freshspecimens made my uncle say that it was time to be on the move. Wecould have gone on shooting scarlet lories, nutmeg pigeons, and pittasas long as we liked, but that would have been wanton work, and unclediscovered that the neighbouring islands would, wherever we went, giveus fresh supplies and present to us birds and insects such as we hadnever seen before, so at last we prepared to start, and with some littledifficulty made Mr Ebony understand that we wanted a good supply ofsago, fruit, and fish for our voyage. 

At first he could not understand that we were going right away, but assoon as he did comprehend our signs the poor fellow looked miserable, for he had regularly attached himself to us all the time of our stay, and he was inconsolable at the idea of our going. 

He helped us, however, to load our boat, and would have given us fishenough for twenty people would we have taken it; and at last, just afteran early breakfast, we bade farewell to the beautiful island, and wavingan adieu to the people, of whom we had seen very little, we turned toshake hands with our black friend, both my uncle and I having ready apresent for him; mine being a handy little hatchet, my uncle's a largetwo-bladed knife. 

To our surprise, though, as we stood down on the sands he refused toshake hands with us, looking very serious and glum, and when we gave himour presents, thinking that they would bring a smile to his face, hetook them quickly and threw them into the bottom of the boat. 

"It is a pity, " said my uncle, "for I do not like the idea of partingbad friends, Nat, my boy. I'd give something if I could speak to thepoor fellow in his own language and tell him that we are not ungratefulfor all his kindness. "

"I often wish we could speak in their own tongue, uncle, " I said. 

"Yes, Nat, but it is next to impossible, for there are fifty or sixtydifferent dialects spoken. There, offer to shake hands with him again. You two were always such good friends. "

I offered my hand to the black chief, but he put his own behind him andpointed to the boat, as much, it seemed to me, as to say, "There, you'vegot all you want now; go away. "

My uncle tried with no better success, and as the natives were gatheringabout us we reluctantly got in where the beautiful canoe lay heaving onthe sands as the great rollers came in. 

Everything was in readiness, our boxes snugly stowed, our provisionsready, our guns in their waterproof cases, the sail lay ready forhoisting, and all that was wanted now was to wait until a good wave camein and then shove off and ride out on it as it retired. 

The canoe was so large that I wondered whether we should be able tomanage it ourselves; but I had full confidence in my uncle's skill, andit seemed to me that my help now ought to be of some use. So I seizedthe pole that lay ready, and prepared to use it; but Mr Ebony, as wehad somehow got into the habit of calling him now, said something to thelittle crowd on the sands, when, as he took the lead, eight or nine raninto the water, seized the boat by the sides, and ran her right outforty or fifty yards to where the water was up to their breasts, when, giving us a final thrust, away we went upon the top of a roller, myuncle hoisting the sail at the right moment, and we glided on. 

I had seized a great paddle used for steering and taken care to keep theboat's head right, laughing to myself the while, and wondering what myuncle would say when he turned round, for he was hauling up the sail andtoo busy to notice anything but his work. 

When at last he did turn round, just as we had glided lightly a goodfive hundred yards from the shore, he cried out: "Hallo!"

For there, just in front of me, squatting down upon his heels and withall his white teeth displayed, was Mr Ebony, apparently quite at home, and without the slightest intention of going back. 

"Why, what does this mean?" said my uncle, and he pointed to the shore. 

But Mr Ebony had no intention of going, and if we had not learned muchof his language, he had picked up something of ours, for he began toshout, "No, no, no, no, no, " till he was out of breath, and layinghimself down he took tight hold of one of the thwarts of the canoe, asif to say that he meant to cling to that if we tried to throw him over. 

"This is why he wouldn't shake hands, Nat, " said my uncle. "He couldn'tswim ashore now, for the sharks, so I suppose he means to come with us. Let's see. "

My uncle pointed to the shore, but Mr Ebony shook his head, so UncleDick pointed right ahead eastward, in the direction we were going, andour black friend nodded, and jumping up danced about, grinning andmuttering excitedly the while. 

"Well, Nat, " said my uncle, "what's to be done? He wants to go withus. "

"Can't we take him, uncle?" I replied. 

"Oh yes, Nat, we can take him, " he replied; "and he would be veryuseful. Only it comes upon me like a surprise. It is, of course, agood thing to have a black with us, for it will teach the people we comeacross that we are friendly, even if we cannot make them understand, though, I dare say, Ebony here will be able sometimes to act asinterpreter. "

"Ebo-Nee, Ebo-Nee, Ebo-Nee, " cried our passenger loudly; and he began tobeat his chest to show that he comprehended whom we meant. 

Then touching me on the chest he cried with great eagerness, "Nat, myboy--Nat, my boy, " looking delighted when we laughed; and to givefurther example of his powers as a linguist, he next touched my uncle ashe had touched me. 

"Ung-go-Dit, Ung-go-Dit, " he cried, finishing off by slapping his nakedflesh, and shouting, "Ebo-Nee, Ebo-Nee. "

"Very good, Master Ebo-Nee, " said Uncle Dick; "since you are so apt atlearning, you may as well go on and pick up our words, for I quitedespair of learning yours. "

The black was shrewd enough to see that we accepted his presence, andupon this he shook hands with us both twice over and then took the greatpaddle from my hand, steering and showing himself thoroughly skilful inthe management of our canoe. 

My uncle pointed east as the course he wanted to go; but our crew, as wecalled him, rose in mutiny directly, pointing south, and handing thepaddle back to me he grew very excited, saying, "Bird, bird, " flappinghis arms like wings and uttering screeches, whistles, and cries, beforelifting an imaginary gun to his shoulder and uttering the word "Bang!"

"That is plain enough to understand, Nat, " said my uncle. 

"Yes, " I replied; "he means that there are plenty of parrots and otherbirds on some island where he will take us. "

"Bird, bird, " cried Ebo-Nee, as we called him henceforth, and he pointedsouth-west. 

"It does not much matter where we go, Nat, " said my uncle, "so long aswe visit islands where naturalists have never been before, so I shalltrust to our friend here. We can get to New Guinea at any time now, forit lies all along the north. All right, go on then, " said my uncle toEbo-Nee, and he nodded and smiled, pointing to what looked like a mistupon the water far away. 

"Nat, ung, shoot, " cried Ebo eagerly; "shoot, shoot, shoot. "

"Why, we shall have quite an English scholar on board soon, Nat, " saidmy uncle laughing; and then in turns we held the sheet as the swiftcanoe glided over the sunlit waves till the island we had left began togrow dim in the distance and its mountains to sink, as it were, beneaththe wave, while the place to which we were going grew less misty andindistinct. 

It was evidently very high land, and as we drew nearer we could see thatright and left of it there were other islands apparently of goodly size. 

Mid-day came and we made a hearty meal, the canoe, urged by the softbrisk breeze, still gliding onwards till towards evening, when we weresufficiently near the land we approached to make out that it was verybleak and bare and sterile. There was a ridge of mountains in thecentral portion, but as we examined the place with the glass it lookedas blank and uninviting as could be. 

"Not a sign of an inhabitant, " said my uncle. "I'm afraid we have madea mistake, Nat; but perhaps one of the other islands may prove moreinviting. "

He continued his inspection and went on talking. "There are plenty oftraces of sea-birds, " he continued, "for the cliffs are covered withguano; but it is not their breeding season, and I cannot see a singlebird. But he is not making straight for the sands. Why don't you tryto land there?"

Ebo shook his head, and then laughed and said, "No, " steering the canoeto the left of the island. And so we sailed on till it was so nearsunset that it would be dark in half an hour, when our crew, who hadevidently been here before, suddenly steered the canoe into a cove wellsheltered from the rollers, and lowering the sail we ran her up on thesoft sands quite clear of the sea, Ebo at once setting to workcollecting dry drift-wood to make a fire. 

He pointed out a sheltered spot among some heaped-up rocks where thesand had been blown up by tempests into a soft bed, and here, after avery hearty meal well cooked over the fire Ebo had made, we lay down tosleep; my uncle having climbed to the top of the rocks and swept theisland with his glass, returning to say that there was not a trace of ahuman being. 

We slept soundly and well out there in that little storm-swept island, but no storms disturbed us, and the first thing I heard after lying downwas the crackling of wood as Ebo piled it up to make a good fire. 

As soon as he saw me awake he beckoned me to go to the boat, and there, taking the fish we had brought out of the basket, he smelt it, made medo the same, and then threw all but one small silvery fellow into thesea. 

"Hullo!" cried my uncle, "isn't that waste, Nat?" for he had advancedover the sands unheard. 

"I think so, uncle, but he means to catch some fresh. "

That was evidently Ebo's intentions, for he cut up the silvery fish intoscraps for bait, and then signing to us to help him, we launched thecanoe, paddled out half a mile, and then threw over a couple of lines, Ebo showing his teeth with delight as he drew in quickly a couple ofgood-sized mullet-looking fish, a couple more, and another soon comingto my line. 

But Ebo was not satisfied till we had caught five or six times as manyas seemed necessary. Then and then only did we paddle ashore. 

It was soon evident why Ebo had wanted so many fish, for after cleaningand setting enough for our breakfasts to roast, he prepared the rest andput them to cook while we made a hearty meal. 

This being ended my uncle rose. 

"Well, Nat, " he said, "this seems a terribly sterile place, but we mayas well have a look round; one finds good specimens sometimes inunlikely spots. Let's get our guns. "

Ebo was watching us intently all the time, evidently trying tocomprehend us and directly after he, to our utter astonishment, shoutedout: "no gun; no shoot; no gun; no bird. Boat, boat, boat, boat. "

He pointed to the canoe, and then right to sea again, and seeing uslaugh he burst into a hearty fit himself, ending by dancing about andputting the freshly cooked fish on board, where we followed him and oncemore launched upon the tropic sea. 

It was plain enough that this was only a resting-place upon our way, foras soon as the sail was hoisted Ebo took the paddle and steered ussouth-west, leaving larger islands to right and left though nothing wasvisible ahead. 

"I suppose we must trust him, Nat, " said my uncle; "but it does lookrather wild work cruising these seas in an open canoe, quite at themercy of a savage whose language we cannot speak. "

"But I think he must have been here before, uncle, " I replied. 

"No doubt about it, my boy. "

"Nat, my boy, " cried Ebo laughing, for he had caught part of my uncle'sspeech. 

"Yes, he has been here before, and probably has touched at some placewhere he has seen, or thinks he has seen, plenty of birds. At any rate, if the weather holds fair it will not be such a very difficult thing torun for some island for shelter. "

I had been thinking the same thing, that it seemed a very riskyproceeding to sail right out to sea under the guidance of this savage;but there was so much romance and novelty in the idea of sailing awaylike Columbus in search of a new land, that I thoroughly enjoyed it, andthe farther we sailed the more excited I grew. 

It was now plain enough why Ebo had insisted upon a good supply of fish, for we dined off it and then made our evening meal of the same, no landbeing in sight, and when at last the lower edge of the sun seemed totouch the crimson water, sending a path of light right to our canoe, whose sail it seemed to turn to ruddy gold, there was still no land insight. 

My uncle stood up and used the glass, gazing straight before him in thedirection that seemed to be our goal; but Ebo shook his head, and thenclosed his eyes and made believe to sleep, pointing to us in turn. 

"He wants us to lie down and sleep, Nat, " said my uncle, "but it is outof the question;" and he shook his head. 

Ebo tried again and again to get us to lie down, but finding that wewould not, he sat there laughing and looking as merry as could be, although there was no land in sight, and at last, when the sun wasdisappearing, he placed the paddle in my uncle's hand, pointingsouth-south-west as the course to be steered, after which he lay downand went off fast asleep. 

I sat talking to my uncle and holding the sheet, though the breeze wasso steady it seemed to be quite unnecessary, while he steered the canoeonward through the darkness, taking the stars for his compass, till themotion of the boat and the darkness combined to send me off into a deepsleep. I had closed my eyes and started up several times before, butthis last time, when I opened my eyes again a was to see the blackfigure of Ebo seated there steering, with the sun just above thehorizon, and my uncle stretched in the bottom of the canoe fast asleep. 

Ebo grinned as I stared at him, and then as I looked about I found thatfar away to the west there was land that we must have passed in thenight, but still we were sailing on as it were into space. 

The water now was bright golden again, and the air felt delicious; but Ibegan to wish that we were at our journey's end, and pointing ahead Itried to learn from our steersman how much farther he was going to takeus. 

His reply was to point straight ahead, and we were still speeding on, when, after five or six hours' sleep, my uncle jumped up intowakefulness, ready to partake of the waiting meal of cold fish, biscuits, and fruit; the coffee, which in a case like this I made bymeans of a spirit-lamp, being kept in abeyance for a time. 

"Well, Nat, " he said, "is our wild-goose chase nearly at an end? Island in sight?"

"No, uncle, " I said, after gazing carefully ahead. Just then Ebopointed to the telescope, and made signs to my uncle to use it. 

"Look through?" he said to the black. "All right, my friend, I will;"and placing it to his eye as he stood up in the boat he cried to me as Ieagerly watched him, "Land ahead, Nat, and apparently a wooded shore!"

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX. 

AN UNKNOWN ISLAND. 

By the time we had made a hearty meal Ebo pointed with triumph to thefaint hazy speck in the distance, now growing minute by minute plainerto our eyes. 

Ebo watched our countenances very intently, and then suddenly broke outwith:

"Bird--shoot--bird. "

"He seems to have brought us here under the impression that it is a goodplace, Nat, and I trust it will prove so, " said my uncle. "I hope therewill be no unpleasant savages to hinder our work. "

As we drew nearer the glass was frequently brought to bear, but neithermy uncle nor I could detect any sign of habitation, not even when wewere within a quarter of a mile of the shore; but, to Uncle Dick's greatdelight, the place proved to be densely wooded in some parts, while thelofty hills looked green and park-like, with the large trees dotted hereand there. 

The beach was a soft white sand, upon which the waves curled gentlyover; and not twenty yards from the highest marks made by the tide, thetall palms, loaded with fruit, drooped their great feathery leaves. 

As far as we could see the island was not large, but the interior wasvery mountainous, the green hills running up to a great height, for themost part well-clothed with wood; and to our great delight, as we ranthe boat cautiously upon the sand, we could hear the screams of parrotsand the whistling and twittering of innumerable birds. 

"We may as well be prepared against danger, " said Uncle Dick, loadinghis gun, and I followed suit; but Ebo began to chatter and expostulatewith us for leaving the boat, and signed to us to help him run it up onthe next wave well ashore, so that a rope could be made fast round thenearest palm stem. 

This we did, and the black's next movement was to collect wood for afire. 

To humour him we waited about while he lit the fire, but kept makinglittle incursions amongst the openings to see if we could spy out anysigns of human habitation. 

But look where we would we saw nothing, and it soon became evident thatwe were the only occupants of that part of the island. 

Ebo seemed so satisfied and contented that it was very evident thatthere was nothing to fear; so we obeyed his signs after we had helpedhim to make a good fire, and followed him through an open park-likepiece of the country till we were about half a mile from the sea, whenhis object in guiding us was plain enough, for he pointed out a littleflock of half a dozen pigeons, as big, it seemed to me, as ordinaryfowls, and getting within range we fired together, and shot four. 

Ebo rushed forward in triumph, and I followed, to regret that I had notattended to Uncle Dick's instructions about reloading, for I could haveobtained a specimen of a curious great black parrot or cockatoo, I couldnot quite see which, as it flew across an opening. 

But we secured the birds we had shot, and going back my uncle and I setto and skinned them, handing over the bodies to Ebo to cook, while wecarefully preserved the skins, admiring them all the while. 

For they were of a rich warm slate colour, and each bird bore a delicategrey crest upon his head, which gave him a noble look, making each birdseem a very prince among pigeons. 

Handsome as was the appearance of the birds, they were none the lessdelicious in the eating. No doubt our open-air life had a good deal todo with the keen enjoyment we had in eating the birds we shot; butfeeding as these pigeons did on spices, nuts, and other sweet food, theflavour given to their flesh was very fine. 

Dinner over, we were for an expedition; but Ebo protested loudly. Taking an axe and beckoning us to follow we accompanied him to a patchof bamboo, and helped him to cut down a good selection of stout pieces, and after them a number of lengths of rattan cane, which grew here in awonderful way. I had seen it growing before, but never to suchperfection; for it seemed to run up one tree and down another, runningalong over the bushes for a short distance and then ascending another, till Uncle Dick computed that some of these canes were quite a hundredyards long. 

It was very evident what Ebo meant, and he was telling us all the time, though not a word could we understand, as we helped him. 

"As we are to make a hut for shelter, Nat, I suppose he expects us tostay here for some time, which is a good sign, for he evidently knowsthat there are plenty of specimens to be had. "

"Do you think any naturalist has been here before, uncle?" I said. 

"I hardly dare think such a thing, Nat, " he replied; "but I cannot helpfeeling hopeful. As I judge it this seems to be an island to which heand his fellows have sailed some time or another, and it is possiblethat European foot has never trodden here before. "

"Let's hope it is so, uncle, " I said; "and then, what a collection weshall get!"

"You will make me as sanguine as you are yourself, Nat, " he saidlaughing; and then we began to be too hot and busy to talk much, forafter carrying the bamboos and rattans to the edge of the forest, justbeneath a widely spreading tree, in whose branches every now and thensome beautiful lory came and perched, but only to fly off screaming, Ebobegan to build. Sharpening four stout bamboos and forcing them into thesoft sandy soil for the four corners of the hut, he very soon bound asmany more to them horizontally about five feet from the ground, tyingthem in the cleverest way with the cane. 

Then he tied a couple more across at each end, and laid a long stoutbamboo in the forks they made for a ridge-pole, binding all as stronglyas could be with an ingenious twist, and after that making rafters ofsmaller bamboos, so that in a couple of hours he had made the roughframework. 

Towards the latter part of the time, in obedience to his instructions, which were given by word of mouth and wave of hand, Uncle Dick and I cuta great number of palm leaves of a very large size, with which Eborapidly thatched the hut, making by the time it was dark a very roughbut very efficient shelter, where we lay down to sleep that night upon apile of soft dry grass, of which there was any quantity naturally madeinto hay and close at hand. 

We were so tired out that night that we did not trouble ourselves aboutthere being no sides to the hut, being only too glad to have a roof tokeep off the dew, and, trusting to there being no dangerous wild beasts, we followed Ebo's example, lying down and sleeping soundly till the sunwas once more above the sea. 

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. 

FRESH TREASURES. 

Ebo set to work earnestly to finish the hut, binding down the palmleaves of the thatch with more long canes, which he cleverly threaded inand out, and afterwards secured their ends. Then he cut off the longends of the bamboos so as to leave all tidy before commencing the sides. 

My uncle was as anxious as I was to go upon some expedition; but asthere was no shelter to be obtained here, and it became more and moreevident that we were upon an uninhabited island, he saw the necessityfor having our boxes and stores under a roof. 

So we set manfully to work helping the black, cutting bamboos, bringinglarge palm leaves, fetching long rattan canes, and handing them to him;while, saving when he left off for meals, Ebo toiled like a slave, working with an industry that we should not have expected to find in aninhabitant of one of these sleepy isles. 

At last, though, he finished, and his childish delight seemed to know nobounds. He danced and shouted, ran in and out, walked round the hut, and then strutted up to us full of self-satisfaction, his tongue goingall the while, and evidently feeling highly delighted at our smiles andwords of praise. 

No time was lost in transferring our boxes and stores beneath the roof;and then, as it wanted quite three hours to sunset, my uncle proposed, by way of recompense for all our drudgery, that we should take our gunsand see if we could not obtain a few specimens. 

Ebo looked delighted, and, without being told, obtained a short piece ofbamboo ready for carrying the birds we shot. 

Then, taking his spear out of the canoe, he smiled to show how ready hewas; but Uncle Dick took him by the arm and led him up to the door ofthe hut. 

"Put your spear there, as you did before, to keep off all visitors, Master Ebo, " he said; and he accompanied his request with signs toexpress what he wished. 

Ebo understood him at once, and made as if to stick the spear in theground before the door, but he stopped short and shook his head, ran afew yards, and peered in amongst the trees; turned round and shook hishead again; ran in another direction and peeped about, coming backshaking his head again. 

Ebo's motions said as plainly as could be:

"There is nobody here but ourselves, " and as if to satisfy us he led theway to a high hill about a mile away, from whence we had a splendid viewall but in one direction, where there lay a clump of mountains. Lookwhich way we would there was nothing but rich plain and dense jungle, with occasional patches of park-like land. Not a sign was there ofhuts, and once more Ebo looked at us and shook his head, counting usafterwards in his own way--one, two, three, and then tossing his arms inthe air. 

"We are in luck, Nat, " said my uncle. "This island must swarm withnatural history specimens, and he has brought us here because he thoughtit a good place; so now to make the best use of our time. Look out!"

As he spoke he raised his gun and fired at a bird darting down a narrowrift between two rocks that looked as if they had been riven asunder. 

I thought he had missed it, but Ebo ran ahead and returned directly witha most lovely kingfisher in glorious plumage. 

"If we get nothing more in this island, Nat, I shall be satisfied, " saidmy uncle as we gazed at the lovely creature which Ebo had brought; andseeing the satisfaction in our faces he indulged in another dance. 

"Yes, " continued my uncle, patting Ebo's black shoulder, "you are atreasure, Ebo, and I see we shall be greatly in your debt. Now, Nat, wemust not have a feather of that bird spoiled. I feel ready to go backon purpose to prepare it. "

It was indeed a lovely creature; but as I gazed upon its delicatelybeautiful tints I felt puzzled. It was of rich purple on the back, withazure-blue shoulders dashed and speckled with a lighter blue, while allthe under parts were of a pure white, which seemed to throw out the richcolours of the back. But the great beauty of the specimen was its tail, which was long and had the two centre feathers continued almost withoutany plumes till the end, where they spread out like a couple of racketbats, making the little bird in all about a foot and a half long. 

I felt as if I should never tire of gazing at the beautiful specimen, and quite understood my uncle's feeling about wishing to make sure of itby preserving it at once. 

Just then, though, a large bird flew across, at which I fired, but itwas too far distant, and the shots did no more than rattle about itsfeathers. 

"Did you see its great beak, uncle?" I said. 

"Yes, Nat, a hornbill. I daresay we shall find plenty of them here. They take the places in the East of the toucans of the West. But now, Nat, there is an easy shot for you--look! Ebo is pointing to it. There, seated on that twig. Now see he darts off after a fly and isback again. No, he is off once more. We have scared him. "

But by this time I had seen the bird, and taking quick aim as it hoveredand snatched at a fly of some kind, I fired and brought it down, to findthat I too had got a prize in the shape of a lovely little bee-eater, with plumage rich in green and blue, brown and black, while its tail wasalso rendered more beautiful by the extension of its central feathers intwo long thin points. 

My uncle's gun spoke out again the next moment, the second barrelfollowing quickly, and Ebo ran and picked up another of the lovelykingfishers, and one of a different kind with a rich coral-red beak, short tail, and its back beautifully barred with blue and black like theornamental feathers in the wings of a jay. 

"That is a bee-eater you have shot, Nat, and a lovely thing too. Mineare all kingfishers. "

"There must be a little stream down in that hollow between those rocks, uncle, " I replied. 

"No, Nat, I don't suppose there is, " he said, smiling. "But why do yousay that?"

"Because of those kingfishers, uncle. There must be a stream or poolsomewhere near. "

"I daresay there is, Nat; but not on account of these birds, my lad. They are dry kingfishers, Nat. They do not live upon fish, but uponbeetles, butterflies, and moths, darting down and picking them off theground without wetting a feather. "

"Why, how curious!" I said. "They have beaks just like the kingfishersat home. "

"Very much like them, Nat, " he said; "but they catch no fish. But come, we must get back to the hut, or we shall never get our birds turned intoskins before dark. Look out!"

We fired so closely together that it sounded like one shot, and threemore of the great pigeons fell heavily to the ground--part of a littleflock that was passing over our head. 

Ebo seized them with a grin of delight, for he knew that these meantlarder, and then hastening back we had just time to strip and prepareour skins before night fell, when, work being ended, the fire was relit, the kettle boiled, and a sort of tea-supper by moonlight, with the darkforest behind and the silvery sea before us, ended a very busy day. 

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT. 

A BIT OF A SCARE. 

That night as I lay in the dark, with the beach outside lit-up by themoon, and listened to the strange noises of the forest behind the hut, Ifelt over and over again ready to awaken my uncle or Ebo, so sure was Ithat I could hear wild beasts on the move. 

Should there be tigers, or leopards, or even wild boars, what chanceshould we have if they attacked? Or it might be that one of the hugeserpents of which I had read so much might creep in at the open door. 

I wanted to be brave, but somehow that night I felt horribly afraid, even the humming buzz of some night-flying beetle making me start. Perhaps I was over-excited, or perhaps, as my uncle would have said, Ihad eaten too much. At all events, be it what it may, I could not go tosleep, but lay there turning hot and cold and wishing it was morning. The silence seemed so dreadful, and the idea of this being anuninhabited island, instead of being delightful as it had felt in thebright sunshine, now appeared horrible, and I lay thinking of our beingfar from all human help, and that if our boat happened to drift away weshould be left to starve. 

Of course this was all nonsense, for with such a clever savage as Eboand our own ingenuity and tools we could have built another boat--notsuch a good one as we had arrived in, but quite strong enough to bear usover a calm sea to one or the other of the islands where trading vesselscame. 

Then I grew hot and seemed to be dripping with perspiration, and myhorror increased. What would become of us when our food and powder andshot were gone? We should starve to death. And I began to tremble andwish I had not come, feeling as if I would give anything to be back athome in my old bedroom, with the gas outside in the road and thepoliceman's heavy foot to be heard now and then as he went along hisbeat on the look-out for burglars. I should have been ready to meetAunt Sophia the next morning and receive the severest scolding I hadever had--anything to be away from where I was. 

Then I tried to reason with myself and to think that even if our powderand shot were gone we could make bows and arrows, and set traps, and asfood ran short we could always make fishing-lines and catch the scalycreatures that swarmed amongst the rocks all round the shore. Besideswhich there were cocoa-nuts in plenty, with abundance of other fruit. 

I thought too of how when I was at home I should have revelled in theidea of being in such a place, to have an uninhabited island, and such aglorious one, far more beautiful and productive than that of RobinsonCrusoe, than whom I should be far better off, for in addition to a manFriday I had my clever uncle for companion, guide, and protector. 

At the thought of the last word I stretched out my hand to awaken himand tell him of my horrible feeling of dread; but I drew it back forvery shame, for what was there to be afraid of?

I grew a little calmer then and lay gazing out of the open door at thebrilliant moonlight, which made some leaves glisten as if they were ofsilver, and all beneath and amidst the thickets look dark and black andsoft as velvet. 

Then came a strange sighing noise from the forest behind us, which mademy flesh creep as I wondered what it could be. Then there was a wild, strange cry, and soon after a heavy crash as of something falling. 

After that, as I lay bathed in perspiration and oppressed by theterrible feeling of loneliness that seemed to increase, I fancied Iheard the pat, pat, pat, pat of some animal running along the ground, followed by a hard breathing. 

"That must be a wild beast, " I said to myself; and I rose up on oneelbow to listen, meaning to get hold of my gun and load it if the soundcame nearer. 

Then in a confused and troubled way I began to ask myself whether Iought to awaken Uncle Dick and at the same time kick Ebo to make himseize his spear and help in our defence. 

But there are no big wild beasts in these islands, my uncle had said tome several times, even expressing his doubt as to there being anythingvery large in New Guinea. 

"But there are great apes, " I said to myself. "I know there are inBorneo, so why should there not be others in an island like this?" andin imagination I began to picture a hideous, great orang-outangcautiously advancing towards our cabin. 

I knew they could be very fierce and that they were tremendously strong. Then, too, some travellers had described them as being quite giants ofsix, seven, and eight feet high, and supposing that there really were noother wild beasts in this island, undoubtedly there were these wild menof the woods, as the Malays called them, and it was one of these thatwas coming about the hut. 

Of course; I knew now as well as if I had seen it. That crash I hadheard was made by one of these monsters, and that was its hard breathingthat I could hear now. 

It was of no use that I tried to make myself believe that I was onlylistening to Ebo breathing, and every now and then indulging in aregular snore. No, I would not believe it, and lay with my feeling ofhorror increasing each moment till I lay so helpless now, that if I hadwanted to get my gun I could not, I dared not move. 

Then there was another horror in the shape of a curious lapping noisefrom the sea, with a splashing and wallowing as of some great beast; andI did know this, that horrible crocodiles came up the rivers and livedabout their mouths, going out to sea and back, and though we had seen noriver yet in this island, it was evident that this was one of themonsters crawling about on the shore, and I seemed to see it in themoonlight with its great coarse, scaly back, crooked legs, long stifftail, and hideous head with sly cruel-looking eyes, and wide, long, teeth-armed jaws. 

After a while I knew as well as could be that with its strange instinctit would scent us out and come nearer and nearer, crawling along overthe soft sand and leaving a track that could easily be seen the nextday. I even seemed to see its footprints with the wide-spread toes, andthe long, wavy furrow ploughed by its tail. 

It was all one terrible nightmare, growing worse and worse; the noise onthe shore increased, the rustling and crashing in the woods; there was astrange humming and buzzing all around, and the breathing sounded closerand deeper. 

At last when I felt as if I could bear it no longer, and that if I didnot rouse my uncle and Ebo we should be destroyed, I tried to call out, but my voice sounded weak and faint; there was a terrible sense ofoppression about me, and the humming and singing noise increased. 

I contrived, however, to touch Ebo, and he muttered angrily and changedhis position, the noise he made in doing so waking my uncle, who startedup on one elbow as if to listen. 

"He hears it all, then, " I said to myself, and with a wonderful sense ofrelief I knew that we should be saved. 

Why did I not spring up to help him? you will say. 

Ah! that I could not do, for I lay there perfectly paralysed with frightand quite speechless, till to my horror I saw in the dim light of thereflected moonbeams my uncle lie down again, when I made a tremendouseffort and gasped forth something or another, I cannot say what. 

"Hallo!" he exclaimed. "Anything the matter, Nat?" and getting upquickly he struck a match and lit a little wax taper that he alwayscarried in the brass match-box, part of which formed a stick. 

He was kneeling by my side directly and had hold of my hand, when at histouch my senses seemed to come back to me. 

"Quick!--the guns!" I panted; "wild beasts!--a crocodile, an ape, uncle. I have been hearing them come. "

"Nonsense! my boy, " he said, smiling. 

"No, no; it is no nonsense, uncle. Quick!--the guns!"

"No, my dear boy, it is nonsense. There are no noxious or dangerousbeasts here. You are quite safe from them. You have been dreaming, Nat. "

"I've not been asleep, " I said piteously. 

"Haven't you, my lad?" he said, with one hand on my brow and the otheron my wrist; "then you have been fancying all these troubles. Nat, myboy, you have got a touch of fever. I'm very glad you woke me when youdid. "

"Fever, uncle?" I gasped, as the horror of my situation increased, andlike a flash came the idea of being ill out in that wilderness, awayfrom all human help and comfort; and, ludicrous is it may sound, Iforgot all about Uncle Dick, and began to think of Dr Portly, who had abig brass plate upon his door in the Clapham Road. 

"Yes, my boy, a touch of fever, but we'll soon talk to him, Nat; we'llnip him in the bud. A stitch in time saves nine. Now you shall seewhat's in that little flat tin box I brought. I saw you stare at itwhen I packed up. "

"I thought it was preserving things, uncle, " I said. 

"So it is, my boy, full of preserving things, one of which you shallsoon have for a dose. I hope you like bitters, Nat?"

He laughed so pleasantly that he seemed to give me courage, but Iglanced in a frightened way at the opening as I said that I did not muchmind. 

He saw my glance, and went outside with a cup in his hand, to come backin a few minutes with it full of water from a pool close by. 

"No wild beasts about, Nat, my boy, " he said merrily. "They were onlyfever phantoms. "

"But I have not been to sleep, uncle, " I protested. 

"Sign that you are ill, Nat, because generally you drop off in aninstant and sleep soundly for hours. There are no wild beasts, my boy, in these islands. "

"But I'm sure I heard a great ape breathing hard, and it broke off agreat branch in the forest. "

"And I'm sure, Nat, that you heard Ebo snoring; and as to the branchbreaking, you heard, I dare say, a dead one fall. They are alwaysfalling in these old forests. We don't notice the noise in the day, when the birds are singing, but in the night everything soundswonderfully clear. "

"But I'm certain I heard a crocodile crawling up out of the sea, andcreeping towards the hut. "

"And I'm certain you did not, my dear boy. We have no muddy tidal riverhere for them to frequent. It was all fever-born, Nat, my boy; believeme. "

All the while he was talking I saw that he was busy getting somethingready. First he put a little white powder in a glass, then he poured afew drops of something over it, and filled it up with water, stirring itwith a little bit of glass rod before kneeling down by me. 

"There, Nat, " he said kindly, "drink that off. "

"What is it, uncle?" I said, taking the glass with hot and tremblinghand. 

"A preserving thing, my boy. One of the greatest blessings everdiscovered for a traveller. It is quinine, Nat, fever's deadliestenemy. Down with it at once. "

The stuff was intensely bitter, but my mouth was so hot and parched, andthe water with it so cool and pleasant, that I quite enjoyed it, anddrew a deep breath. 

"There, now, lie down again, my boy, and be off to sleep. Don't fillyour head full of foolish imaginings, Nat. There is nothing to fearfrom wild beasts here. "

"But am I going to be very ill, uncle?"

"No, certainly not. You will sleep after that till three or four hourspast sunrise, and then you will waken, feeling a little weak, perhaps, but in other respects all right. Perhaps it will come back again, andif it does we will rout it out once more with some quinine. Why, Nat, I've had dozens of such attacks. "

I lay back, feeling more at rest, and satisfied that uncle was rightabout the beasts, for there was no sound now to trouble me; only thelapping of the water, which seemed to be only the waves now beatingsoftly upon the sand, while the heavy breathing was certainly Ebo's, that gentleman never having moved since I touched him. 

Then I saw my uncle shut up his little tin case and replace it in thechest, put out the wax taper, and lie down upon his couch of dry grass, yawning slightly, and then lying gazing out of the open door, for Icould see his eyes shine. 

But by degrees the faintly lit-up hut, with its bamboos and roof, itschests, guns, and Ebo's spear, all seemed to grow indistinct, and thenall was restful peace. 

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE. 

A STRANGE CRY IN THE WOODS. 

When I opened my eyes again the sea was dancing and sparkling, and theleaves waving gently in the soft warm breeze. I could see from where Ilay that the water was rippling gently upon the sand, and not far fromthe hut door my uncle was busy skinning some bright-plumaged bird, whileEbo was cooking a couple of pigeons, and watching a little kettle stuckamongst the glowing ashes. 

I was very comfortable, and did not feel disposed to move, for allseemed so calm and pleasant; and when I thought a little about myprevious night's fancies I was ready to smile at them as being perfectlyabsurd. 

I did not speak, but lay quite still, gazing at the lovely pictureframed by the open door, and thinking how beautiful it all was, and howfoolish I had been to go on fancying such dangers as I had in the night. 

Then it was very pleasant, too, to watch Uncle Dick, and how very muchquicker and cleverer he was at making a skin than I was. Still, I hopedby practice to get to be as quick. 

He went on till he had dressed the interior of the skin with the soappreparation, and after filling certain parts with cotton-wool, and tyingthe wing-bones together, he turned it back, smoothed the plumage, and Isaw that it was another of the short blue-barred kingfishers similar tothat we had obtained before. 

I could not help noticing as I lay there so quietly what great care andattention he gave to his task, seeming as if he thoroughly enjoyed hiswork, and felt it to be a duty to do it well. 

At last, though, it was put away to dry, and after carefully washing hishands he came to the hut door very gently to see if I was awake. 

"Ah, Nat, " he said smiling, "how are you after your long sleep?"

"Long sleep, uncle!" I cried. "Is it very late?"

"Nearly noon, my boy. Well, how are you?"

"I--I think I'm quite well, thank you, uncle, " I said, springing up, andfeeling ashamed to be lying there, but turning so giddy that I shouldhave fallen had Uncle Dick not caught my arm. 

"Sit down, " he said quietly. "There, that is better. "

"Yes; I feel better now, " I said. 

"To be sure you do. Well, Nat, I think we have beaten the fever. Youwill feel weak for a day or two, but you will soon be all right. "

And so it proved. For after two or three days of weakness, and astrange weary feeling that was quite new to me, I rapidly got better andfelt no more dread of being alone at night; in fact I slept soundly ascould be, and got up ready and fresh for any new work. 

Uncle Dick was very kind, for until I was stronger he contented himselfwith shooting just about the hut, finding plenty of beautiful birds; butas soon as I was strong enough we prepared some cold provisions andstarted off for a longer exploration. 

Ebo was delighted, and capered about in the excess of his joy, chattering in his own tongue and introducing every English word he hadpicked up, and these began now to be a good many; but he had very littleidea of putting them to a proper use, muddling them up terribly, butkeeping in the most perfect humour no matter how we laughed at him. 

"It is my belief, Nat, " said Uncle Dick, "that we shall find somethingbetter worthy of our notice yet if we make a good long expedition intothe more wooded parts of the island. "

"I thought we could not be better off, uncle, " I said, "for we aregetting some lovely birds. "

"So we are, Nat; but one is never satisfied, and always wants more. Iexpect we shall find some birds of paradise, for it strikes me that thecry I have heard several times at daybreak comes from one of them. "

"Birds of paradise! Here, uncle?" I cried. 

"Why not, my boy? It is as likely a place as it is possible to imagine:an island near the equator, deeply wooded, and hardly ever visited byman. I should say that we must find some here. "

"Oh, uncle!" I cried as my eyes glistened, and I felt my cheeks flushat the anticipation of seeing one of these noble birds before the muzzleof my gun. 

"I shall be greatly disappointed if we do not find some, and I shouldhave been in search of them before now, only I thought you would like togo, and there was plenty of work close home. "

I did not say much, but I felt very grateful at his thoughtfulness, andthe very next morning we were off before it was day, tramping throughthe thick herbage and mounting the rising ground towards the south. 

"I purpose trying to get right across the island to-day, Nat, " he said, "and if we are too tired to get back all the way we must contrive enoughshelter and camp out for one night in the woods. "

"I shall not mind, uncle, " I said, and on we went. 

This time we had provided ourselves with light small baskets, such as wecould swing from a cord that passed over our right shoulders, and longand deep enough to hold a good many specimens. We all three bore these, Ebo's being double the size of ours, as he had no gun to use, buttrotted easily by our side with his spear over his shoulder. 

Before we had gone two miles several lovely birds had fallen to ourguns, principally of the thrush family, for our way was amongst busheson the rising ground. 

It is impossible to describe properly the beauty of these lovelysoftly-feathered objects. Fancy a bird of the size of our thrush butwith a shorter tail, and instead of being olive-green and speckled withbrown, think of it as having a jetty head striped with blue and brown, and its body a blending of buff, pale greyish blue, crimson, and black. 

We kept on, taking our prizes from the baskets, where they lay incotton-wool, to examine and admire them again and again. 

No sooner had we feasted our eyes upon these birds than something asbright of colour fell to our guns. Now it would be a golden oriole orsome glittering sun-bird. Then a beautiful cuckoo with crimson breastand cinnamon-brown back. Then some beautifully painted paroquet with adelicate long taper tail; and we were in the act of examining one ofthese birds, when, as we paused on the edge of a forest of great treesby which we had been skirting, my uncle grasped my arm, for, soundinghollow, echoing, and strange, there rang out a loud harsh cry:"_Quauk-quauk-quauk! Qwok-qwok-qwok_!"

This was answered from a distance here and there, as if there wereseveral of the birds, if they were birds, scattered about the forest. 

"There, Nat, " said my uncle; "do you hear that?"

"Yes, " I said, laughing. "I could hear it plainly enough, uncle. Whatwas it made by--some kind of crow?"

"Yes, Nat, some kind of crow. "

"Are they worth trying to shoot, uncle?" I asked. 

"Yes, " he said with a peculiar smile; and then, as the cry rang outagain, apparently nearer, he signified to Ebo that he should try andguide us in the direction of the sounds. 

The black understood him well enough, and taking the lead he went onswiftly through the twilight of the forest, for it was easy walking herebeneath the vast trees, where nothing grew but fungi and a fewpallid-looking little plants. 

And so we went on and on, with the trees seeming to get taller andtaller, and of mightier girth. Now and then we caught a glimpse of theblue sky, but only seldom, the dense foliage forming a complete screen. 

Every now and then we could hear the hoarse harsh cry; but though wewent on and on for a tremendous distance, we seemed to get no nearer, till all at once Ebo stopped short, there was the hoarse cry justoverhead, and I saw something sweep through the great branches a hundredand fifty feet away. 

I had not time to fire, for my uncle's gun made the forest echo, thoughnothing fell. 

"I missed it, Nat, " he said, "for the branches were in my way; but Ithought I would not let the slightest chance go by. "

"What was it, uncle?" I said. 

"One of your crows, " he replied, laughing; and Ebo went on again. 

Just then my uncle glanced at his compass, and saw that we weretravelling in the right direction--due south--so it did not matter howfar we went; but though we kept hearing the cries of the crow-birds, asI eventually called them, we saw no more, and felt disappointed for atime, but not for long; there were too many fresh objects for ournotice. 

At last daylight appeared ahead, and we came out from amongst thetrunks, which had risen up on every side of us like pillars, into abeautiful open valley dotted with trees, some of which were green withluxuriant branches right to the ground. 

We did not spend many moments gazing at the beautiful landscape, solovely that I half expected to see houses there, and that it was theresult of clever gardening; but it was nature's own work, and in everytree there were so many birds, and of such lovely kinds, that we seemedto have come to the very place of all in the world to make ourcollection. 

"There, Nat, look!" said my uncle, pointing to where, in the fullsunshine, a great bird with a train of soft amber plumage flew acrossthe opening, to disappear amongst the trees; "there goes one of yourcrows. "

"That lovely buff bird, uncle?" I said; "why, it looked like what Ishould think a bird of paradise would be. "

"And that's what it was, undoubtedly, Nat, " he said, "though I neverbefore saw one on the wing. "

"But you said crow, uncle, " I said. "Oh! of course, you said the birdsof paradise belonged to the crow family. I wish you could have shotit. "

"It would have required a rifle to hit it at that distance, Nat; butwait a bit. We have learned one thing, and that is the fact that wehave birds of paradise here, and that satisfies me that we cannot dobetter than keep to our present quarters. This place exceeds my highesthopes for a collecting ground. There, look at that bird by the greathollow-looking tree. "

"I was looking at it, uncle. It is one of those great birds with thebig bill and a thing upon it like a deck-house. "

"Yes, " said my uncle, "and there is something more. Look, Ebo has goneon. He seems to understand by our looks when he cannot make out ourwords. "

For Ebo had trotted forward towards the tree that had taken ourattention, where the great hornbill had flown to a dead trunk someten-feet from the ground, and then flapped away. 

CHAPTER THIRTY. 

A CURIOUS MARRIED COUPLE. 

As Ebo reached the tree he turned back to us laughing and pointing withhis spear, and then signed to us to come, though even when we were closeup to him I could see nothing but a tiny hole in the trunk of the greattree. 

"It can't be a nest, uncle, " I said, "because it is not big enough. Perhaps it is a wild bees' hive. "

"I don't know yet, " said my uncle. "I'm like you, Nat, a little bitpuzzled. If it were not so small I should say it was a nest from theway that great hornbill keeps flapping about and screeching. "

"Shall I shoot it, uncle?" I said eagerly. 

"Well, no, Nat, I hardly like to do that. If it is as I think, it wouldbe too cruel, for we should be starving the young, and it will be easyto get a specimen of a hornbill if we want one, though really it is sucha common bird that it is hardly worth carriage as a skin. "

Just then, to show us, Ebo began to poke at the hole with the point ofhis spear, and we saw the point of a bill suddenly pop out and dart inagain, while the great hornbill shrieked and shouted, for I can call itnothing else, so queerly sounded its voice. 

"Why, it can't be the hornbill's nest, uncle!" I said. "Look how smallit is. "

"Yes, it is small, but it is the hornbill's nest after all, " said myuncle, as Ebo kept on poking at the hole and bringing down pieces ofwhat seemed to be clay. Then, seeing how interested we were, he tookoff his basket, lay down his spear, and taking a hatchet from hiswaistband cut a few nicks for his toes, and began to climb up, the bighornbill screeching horribly the while, till Ebo was level with thehole, from out of which the end of a bill kept on peeping. 

Then the hornbill flew off and Ebo began to chop away a large quantityof dry clay till quite a large hole was opened, showing the original wayinto the hollow tree; and now, after a great deal of hoarse shriekingthe black got hold of the great bird that was inside, having quite afight before he could drag it out by the legs, and then dropping withit, flapping its great wings, to the ground. 

"Undoubtedly the female hornbill, " said my uncle. "How singular! Themale bird must have plastered her up there and fed her while she hasbeen sitting. That was what we saw, Nat. "

"Then there must be eggs, uncle, " I cried, with my old bird-nestingpropensities coming to the front. 

But Ebo was already up the tree again as soon as he had rid himself ofthe great screaming bird, and in place of bringing down any eggs heleaped back to the earth with a young hornbill, as curious a creature asit is possible to imagine. 

It was like a clear leather bag or bladder full of something warm andsoft, and with the most comical head, legs, and wings, a good-sized softbeak, a few blue stumps of feathers to represent the tail, and nothingelse. It was, so to speak, a horribly naked skin of soft jelly withstaring eyes, and it kept on gaping helplessly for more food, when itwas evidently now as full as could be. 

"Are there more birds?" said Uncle Dick pointing to the hole; but Eboshook his head, running up, thrusting in his hand, and coming downagain. 

"Very curious, Nat, " said my uncle. "The male bird evidently shuts hiswife up after she has laid an egg, to protect her from other birds andperhaps monkeys till she has hatched, and then he goes on feeding herand her young one. "

"And well too, uncle; he is as fat as butter. "

"Feeding both well till the young one is fit to fly. "

"Which won't be yet, uncle, for he hasn't a feather. "

"No, my boy. Well, what shall we do with them?" said my uncle, stillholding the screeching mother, while I nursed the soft warm bird baby, her daughter or son. 

"Let's put the little--no, I mean the big one back, uncle, " I said, laughing. 

"Just what I was thinking. Climb up and do it. "

I easily climbed to the nest and was glad to get the young bird in againwithout cracking its skin, which seemed so tender; and no sooner had Irolled it softly in and climbed down than my uncle let the mother go, and so strong was her love of her young that she immediately flew to thehole and crept in, croaking and screaming in an uneasy, angry way, as ifshe was scolding us for interfering with her little one, while from adistance amongst the trees the cock bird kept on answering her with thenoisiest and most discordant cries. 

Every now and then it came into sight, flying heavily across theopenings between the trees, its great cream-coloured, clumsy-lookingbill shining and looking bright in the sun, while the cries it utteredtempted one to put one's fingers into one's ears. 

And all the time the hen bird inside the tree kept answering itpeevishly, as much as to say, Look here: what a shame it is! Why don'tyou come and drive these people away?

"This is one of the most singular facts in natural history that I havemet with, " said Uncle Dick, who was still gazing curiously up at thetree and watching the female hornbill's head as she kept shufflingherself about uneasily, and seemed to object to so much light. 

"I think I know what it is, uncle, " I said, laughing. 

"Do you, Nat, " he replied. "Well, you are cleverer than I am if you doknow. Well, why is it?"

"The hen hornbill must be like Uncle Joe's little bantam, who neverwould sit till she was shut up in the dark, and that's why Mr Hornbillfastened up his wife. "

My uncle laughed, and then, to Ebo's great delight, for he had beenfidgeting about and wondering why it was that we stopped so long, wecontinued our journey in search of the birds of paradise, whose criescould be heard at a distance every now and then. 

But though we kept on following the sounds we seemed to get no nearer, and to make matters worse, so as not to scare them uncle said it wouldbe better not to fire, with the consequence that we missed shooting somevery beautiful birds that flitted from tree to tree. 

"We must give up the birds of paradise to-day, Nat, " said my uncle atlast. "I see it is of no use to follow them; they are too shy. "

"Then how are we to get any?" I said in a disappointed tone; for we hadbeen walking for some hours now and I was tired. 

"Lie in wait for them, Nat, " he replied smiling. "But come, we'll tryand shoot a few birds for food now and have a good dinner. You willfeel all the more ready then for a fresh walk. "

By means of a little pantomime we made Ebo understand what we wanted, and in a very little while he had taken us to where the great pigeonsthronged the trees, many being below feeding on a kind of nut which hadfallen in great profusion from a lofty kind of palm. 

If we had wanted a hundred times as many of the big pigeons we couldeasily have shot them, they were so little used to attack; but we onlybrought down a sufficiency for our present wants, and as soon as Ebounderstood that these birds were not to be skinned but plucked foreating, he quickly had a good fire blazing and worked away stripping thefeathers off so that they dropped on the fire and were consumed. 

The plumage was so beautiful that it seemed to be like so much wantondestruction to throw it away, and I could not help thinking what delightit would have given me before I had seen Uncle Dick's collection, tohave been the possessor of one of these noble birds. But as my unclevery reasonably said, we should have required a little army of portersto carry our chests, and then a whole vessel to take them home, if wewere to preserve every specimen we shot. We could only save the finestspecimens; the rest must go for food; and of course we would only, afterwe had obtained a sufficiency of a particular kind, shoot those that werequired for the table. 

Ebo was invaluable in preparing fires and food for cooking, and uponthis occasion, as he placed the birds on sticks close to the hot blaze, I watched him with no little interest, longing as I did to begin thefeast. 

But birds take time to cook, and instead of watching impatiently forthem to be ready, I saw that Uncle Dick had taken his gun down a narrowlittle glade between two rows of trees growing so regularly that theyseemed to have been planted by a gardener. 

But no gardener had ever worked here, and as I overtook my uncle hebegan to talk of how singular it was that so beautiful a place should bewithout inhabitants. 

"The soil must be rich, Nat, to produce such glorious trees and shrubs. Look at the beauty of what flowers there are, and the herbage, Nat. Theplace is a perfect paradise. "

"And do you feel sure, uncle, that there are no savages here?"

"None but ourselves, Nat, " said my uncle, laughing. 

"Well, but we are not savages, uncle, " I said. 

"That is a matter of opinion, my boy. I'm afraid the birds here, ifthey can think about such things, would be very much disposed to lookupon us as savages for intruding upon their beautiful domain to shootone here and one there for our own selfish purposes. "

"Oh! but birds can't think, uncle, " I said. 

"How do you know?"

Well, of course I did not know, and could produce no argument in supportof my case. So I looked up at him at last in a puzzled way and saw thathe was smiling. 

"You can't answer that question, Nat, " he said. "It is one of thematters that science sees no way of compassing. Still, I feel certainthat birds have a good deal of sense. "

"But you don't think they can talk to one another, do you, uncle?"

"No, it cannot be called talking; but they have certain ways ofcommunicating one with the other, as anyone who has taken notice ofdomestic fowls can see. What is more familiar than the old hen's cry toher chickens when she has found something eatable? and then there is thecurious call uttered by all fowls when any large bird that they think isa bird of prey flies over them. "

"Oh! yes, I've heard that, uncle, " I said. 

"I remember an old hen uttering that peculiar warning note one day in afield, Nat, and immediately every chicken feeding near hurried off underthe hedges and trees, or thrust their heads into tufts of grass to hidethemselves from the hawk. "

"That seems to show, uncle, that they do understand. "

"Yes, they certainly comprehend a certain number of cries, and it is asort of natural language that they have learned for their preservation. "

"I know too about the chickens, uncle, " I said. "Sometimes they goabout uttering a little soft twittering noise as if they were happy andcontented; but if they lose sight of their mother they pipe and cry andstand on their toes, staring about them as if they were in the greatestof trouble. "

"I think I can tell you another curious little thing about fowls too, and their way of communicating one with the other. Many years ago, Nat, I had a fancy for keeping some very large fine Dorking fowls, and veryinteresting I found it letting the hens sit and then taking care oftheir chickens. "

"But how is it, uncle, " I said, interrupting him, "that a tiny, tenderchicken can so easily chip a hole in an egg-shell, as they do when theyare nearly ready to come out?"

"Because, for one reason, the egg-shell has become very brittle, and allthe glutinous, adhesive matter has dried away from the lime; the otherreason is, that the pressure of the bird's beak alone is sufficient todo it, because the pressure comes from within. There is a wonderfulstrength in an egg, Nat, if the pressure is from without; it will bearenormous weight from without, for one particle supports another, and inreason the pressure adds to the strength. The slightest touch, however, is sufficient to break a way out from within. I'll be bound to say youhave often hammered an egg with a spoon and been surprised to find howhard it is. "

"Yes, uncle, often, " I said. 

"Well, but to go on with my story, Nat. One day a favourite hen hadeleven beautiful little yellow downy chickens, and for the fun of thething I took one soft little thing out of the nest and carried it intothe yard, where the great cock was strutting about with hissickle-feathered green tail glistening in the sun, and, putting down thetiny yellow ball of down, I drew back, calling the old cock the while. 

"He ran up, thinking it was something to eat; but as soon as he reachedthe helpless little chick he stopped short, bent his head down, lookedat it first with one eye, then with the other, and seemed lost inmeditation. 

"`Come, papa, ' I said, `what do you think of your little one?'

"Still he kept on staring intently at the little thing till it began tocry `_Peek, peek, peek_' in a most dismal tone, for it was very cold, and then the old cock, who had been looking very important and big, suddenly began to cry `_Took, took, took_', just like a hen, and softlycrouched down, spreading his wings a little for the chick to creep underhim and get warm, and no doubt he would have taken care of that chickenand brought it up if I had not taken it back to the hen. 

"But look! we are talking about barn-door fowls and losing chances toget lovely specimens of foreign birds and--what's that?"

For just then a shrill wild call rang down the lovely glade, and Ithought that Uncle Dick was wrong, and savages were near. 

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE. 

LOST IN THE FOREST. 

There was no occasion for alarm, the cry only coming from Ebo, who, assoon as he saw us, began making frantic signs to us to come. 

"That means the pigeons are cooked, Nat, " said my uncle, laughing; andthis was the case, for, as soon as he saw us, the black came running upgesticulating and pointing behind him in the direction of the fire, where the delicious birds were waiting for us to eat. 

Those were delightful meals that we had out in the shade of some grandwide-spreading tree, in whose branches every now and then a parrot wouldcome shrieking, to be followed by others; and as we ate our dinner sowould they busily find and eat theirs, hanging by their legs, perhapshead downwards, or perching on one leg and using the other with its softclasping yoke toes like a hand to convey the food towards its beak. 

I never felt tired of watching the parrots and paroquets, for besidestheir beauty of plumage of all kinds of soft tints of green, brightenedwith orange and scarlet and blue, they always looked such plump anddelicately feathered birds. I have seen hundreds of them stuffed, andhave admired the bird-mounters' skill, but they never get anywhere nearnature and the soft and downy beauty of a bird in its native state. 

The wonder to me was that they could keep themselves so prim, and withevery feather in such perfect order. The paroquets, for instance, hadthe central feathers of their tail so long and thin and delicate, thatit seemed that, flitting and climbing about the trees so much, they mustget them broken, but they apparently never did, except when they weredamaged by our shot. 

It was the same with the lovely racket-tailed kingfishers and thefly-catchers, some of which had tails double the length of their ownbodies, and of a delicacy that was beautiful in the extreme. 

But I must go back to the rest of our adventures that day, for as soonas we had dined and had a rest, Uncle Dick signed to Ebo that he shouldmake a rough hut beneath this tree, ready for our sleeping that night, and leaving him industriously at work, we started off together to tryand explore a little more of the island. 

Going as straight as we could, we were not very long before, from a bitof a hill, we could see the blue waters of the ocean spreading far andwide, and soon after we made out the great rollers falling over upon thesands, which spread right and left, of a dazzling whiteness, beingcomposed entirely of powdered-up coral and madrepore. 

There was no need, my uncle said, to go farther that day, for we hadfound out that it was no great distance across the island; the thing nowwas to discover its length. 

"It seems a foolish thing to do, perhaps, Nat, " said my uncle, "but Ishould very much like to try a little more exploration to-day. I don'tthink we will shoot any more birds, but examine the land instead, so asto be a little at home with its shape, ready for making a trip here andthere in the future. We shall be able to mark down good spots, too, forfinding specimens in the future. "

"But shall you stay here long, uncle?" I asked. 

"That I cannot answer, Nat, " he replied, as we shouldered our guns andtrudged on. "It all depends upon the number of specimens we find, andso far it seems to me that we might travel far before we hit again uponsuch a wild paradise. "

"I wonder how Uncle Joe would like to live here!" I said laughing. "What a garden he might have, and how things would grow! Oh, how Ishould like to help him build the house and get the garden in order!"

"Your Uncle Joe would be happy anywhere, Nat, " said my uncle. "He isone of those contented amiable men who are always at rest; but I'mafraid your Aunt Sophia would soon find it dull, and be grumblingbecause there was no gas, no pavement, no waterworks, no omnibuses, nocabs, no railroads. No, Nat, my boy, your Aunt Sophia would bemiserable here. "

"And yet it is such a lovely place, " I cried enthusiastically. "Everything is so beautiful. Oh! uncle, I could stay here forever. "

"No, Nat, you could not, " he replied laughing; "but it is very beautifulall the same. I have travelled a great deal, and have seen somewonderful scenery, but I have never met with so much beauty condensed inso small a space. "

We kept on walking, but it was only to stop every now and then beforesome fresh find--sometimes it would be a curiously-shaped orchid, or apitcher-plant half full of dead insects. Then some great forest treefull of sweet-scented blossoms, and alive with birds and insects, wouldarrest our attention; or down in some moist hollow, where a tiny streamtrickled from the rocks, there would be enormous tree-ferns springing uptwelve or fifteen feet above us, and spreading their beautiful frondslike so much glorious green lace against the sky. A fern is always abeautiful object, but these tree-ferns were more than beautiful--theywere grand. 

The farther we went the more beauties we found, and we kept on notingdown places to visit again where there were palm and other trees full offruit, which evidently formed the larder of various kinds of beautifulbirds. We could have shot enough in that walk to have kept us busymaking skins for days, but we kept to the determination my uncle hadmade, not to shoot any more that day, except once, when the curioushoarse cry of some bird of paradise, answered by others at a distance, tempted us away. 

"Birds of paradise are exceptions, Nat, " said my uncle, smiling. "Wemust get them when we can. "

I immediately seemed to see the beautiful bird flying amongst the trees, with its lovely buff plumes trailing behind like so much live sunshine, and glancing once at my gun to see that the cartridges were in allright, I crept cautiously on amongst the trees on one side as Uncle Dickmade a bit of a curve round in another, so that we had a good many greatforest trees between us, whose foliage we carefully watched as we wentcautiously on. 

Every now and then, after a silence that made us think that our labourwas all in vain, and we were about to give up, the loud harsh cry wouldcome echoing from amongst the trees, and always seeming so near that Ithought I must get a shot at the bird in a moment or two, and I bentdown and crept on as quietly as I could, till the tree from which thesound seemed to come was reached. 

Then I would stand ready to fire, watching carefully for a shot, peeringamongst the boughs, and fancying a dozen times over that I could catchglimpses of the bird amongst the leaves, when, as if laughing at me formy pains, the cry would come again from a couple of hundred yards away, and the chase went on. 

I did not shout to Uncle Dick, for by stopping to listen now and then Icould hear the rustling of the leaves and twigs as he went on, besidesevery now and then catching through the dim light a glimpse of his face. 

Once or twice, when a beautiful bird sprang up between us, my heartbegan to beat more quickly, for I thought that if uncle was tempted toshoot at it he might hit me; but by degrees I grew more confident andwalked boldly on, feeling that I had nothing to fear. 

That bird must have led us for miles. Every time we were ready to giveup, the hoarse cry rang out again, and we followed once more, feelingsure that sooner or later we must get a shot at it, or at one of theothers which kept answering from a distance; but at last I heard apeculiar whistle from where my uncle would be, and I forced my waythrough the undergrowth and joined him. 

"Nat, " he said, wiping the perspiration from his face, "that must havebeen a wild-goose instead of a bird of paradise. Have you heard itlately?"

"No, uncle; not for quite a quarter of an hour. I think it must havetaken a longer flight this time. "

"_Yawk, yawk--wok, wok, wok, wok, wok_, " rang out close behind us, andwe both fired simultaneously at a faint gleam of what seemed to beyellow light as it flitted through the glade, running forward to getbeyond the smoke in the hope that we might have hit it. 

But even if we had we should not have been able to find it, for in theeagerness of our pursuit we had come now into one of the densest partsof the forest that we had found, and after wandering on through a faintwarm glow caused by the setting sun shining through the tree trunks, asudden dull greyness had come upon us, followed almost at once bydarkness, and we knew that we were lost. 

"I ought to have known better, Nat, " said my uncle, with an exclamationof impatience. "I have not the most remote idea where our camp is, andEbo will be expecting us back. "

"Oh! never mind, uncle, " I said; "let's have a try. I dare say we canfind the way back. "

"My dear boy, it would be sheer folly, " he replied. "How is itpossible? We are tired out now, and it would be only exhaustingourselves for nothing, and getting a touch of fever, to go striving onthrough the night. "

"What are we to do then, uncle?"

"Do, my boy? Do as Adam did, make ourselves as comfortable as we canbeneath a tree. We can do better, for we can cut some wood and leavesto make ourselves a shelter. "

"What, build a hut, uncle?" I said in dismay; for I was now beginningto find out how tired I really was. 

"No; we won't take all that trouble; but what we do we must do quickly. Come along. "

I followed him up a slope to where the ground seemed to be a trifle moreopen and the trees larger, and as we forced our way on my uncle drew hisgreat hunting-knife and chopped down a straight young sapling, which, upon being topped and trimmed, made a ten-feet pole about as thick as myarm was then. 

This he fixed by resting one end in the fork of a tree and tying theother to a branch about five feet from the ground. 

"Now then, Nat, " he cried, "get your big sheath-knife to work and clearthe ground here. Does it seem dry?"

"Yes, uncle, quite, " I said. 

"Well, then, you chop off plenty of soft twigs and leaves and lay themthickly for a bed, while I make a roof over it. "

We worked with a will, I for my part finding plenty of tree-ferns, whosefronds did capitally, and Uncle Dick soon had laid sloping against thepole a sufficiency of leafy branches to form an ample shelter againstthe wind and rain should either come. 

"So far, so good, Nat, " he said; "now are you very hungry?"

"I'm more tired than hungry, uncle, " I said. 

"Then I think we will light a fire and then have as good a night's restas we can. "

There was no difficulty in getting plenty of dried wood together, andafter a few failures this began to blaze merrily, lighting up the leavesof the trees with a rich red glow; and when it was at its height settinga good many birds flitting about in the strange glow, so that we couldhave procured more specimens here. But after sitting talking by thefire for some time we crept in under our leafy shed, and it seemed to methat no sooner had I stretched myself out than I fell fast asleep. 

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO. 

ANOTHER NIGHT HORROR. 

I had no idea how long I had been asleep when all at once I started intowakefulness, feeling that we were in danger. 

I did not know what the danger might be, but that there was somethingabout to happen I was sure. 

It was very dark in our narrow shed, and nearly dark out beyond ourfeet, only that a faint glow from our fire made one or two tree trunksstand out like dark sentinels just on the other side. 

My uncle was so near that I could have wakened him by just moving onehand, but remembering that other night I shrank from wakening himwithout cause. 

"I've got another fever fit coming on, " I said to myself; but all thesame I did not feel so, only startled and timid, and to encourage myselfI thought that I must have had a bad dream. 

But no; I could remember no dream. It seemed as if I had sunk at onceinto a profound sleep from which I had just wakened fancying that wewere in danger. 

Then I lay quite still listening to my uncle's breathing, and thinkinghow helpless and unprotected we were out in that wild place, not evenhaving Ebo with us now. 

But what was there to fear, I asked myself as I recalled my uncle'swords, that he was certain there were no wild beasts in such an islandas this, and there were no other inhabitants than ourselves. 

Yes, I could think of all this, and it ought to have made me morecomfortable; but no, there was still that curious feeling of being indanger, and I felt as certain as if I could see it, that something wascoming to attack us. 

Then as I could neither see nor hear anything I began once more toconclude that I must be suffering from another attack of fever, and Ilifted my hand to awaken my uncle, so that he might give me some quinineagain. 

Then I recollected that the medicine was in one of our boxes right awayfrom where we were, for we were lost in the forest, and it would beimpossible to move until the sun was up once more. So there I lay tillanother change came over me, and I once more felt sure that it was notfever again. I knew it was not, and this time there was no mistake--something was coming through the forest, though what it was I could nottell. 

Should I waken my uncle?

I raised my hand again and again, but always lowered it once more, sofearful was I of being ridiculed; and then I lay thinking that althoughuncle had said with such certainty that there were neither inhabitantsnor wild beasts, there was plenty of room for either to hide away inthese forests; and besides, should there be no regular inhabitants, somemight have come by canoe from one or other of the islands. And, yes, Iwas sure of it, they must have seen our fire, and were creeping up tokill us where we lay. 

This was a very pretty theory; but would not they make some noise asthey came, and if so, where was that noise?

I lay perfectly still with the perspiration oozing out of me and myhorror increasing, but still there was no noise. 

Yes, there was--a low rustling sound as of some one creeping through thebushes towards us. There could be no mistaking that sound, it was justthe same as I had been hearing all the afternoon as we crept cautiouslyon in search of the birds of paradise. 

I listened and tried to pierce the darkness with my eyes, but only justabout the embers of the fire was anything visible, where the tree trunksstood all like sentries. 

Then the noise ceased and I was ready to believe that I had made amistake. No, there it was again, and certainly much nearer. 

Should I wake Uncle Dick, or should I try to be brave enough to dealwith the danger myself?

I was horribly frightened and sadly wanted him to give me his help andcounsel; but as I was not sure, in spite of my feelings, that therereally was danger, I fought hard with my cowardice and determined to actas seemed best. 

Cautiously reaching out my hand I took hold of my gun, and by pressingmy finger on each trigger in turn, I cocked it silently, and raisingmyself on one elbow waited for the danger to come. 

The sounds stopped several times, but were always resumed, and the moreI listened the more certain I felt that some big animal was creeping upwith great caution towards the fire, though I felt that that animalmight be a man. 

I would have given anything to have been able to sit up in an easierposition; but I could only have done so by making a noise and perhapswaking Uncle Dick for nothing. So I remained as I was, watching witheyes and ears upon the strain, the barrel of my gun towards the openingin our leafy shed and well covering the fire; and so minute after minutewent by, with the sensation more and more strongly upon me of the nearpresence of some creature, one which I each moment expected to see crossthe faint glow of the fire. 

Then all was still, and though I listened so intently I could hearnothing but my uncle's breathing. So still did everything become that Ibegan to feel less oppression at my chest, and ready to believe that itwas all fancy, when suddenly the embers of the fire seemed to havefallen a little together, for the glow grew stronger and there was afaint flicker which made my heart give one great bound. 

For there, between me and the fire, was what appeared to be themonstrous figure of an orang-outang, which had crawled close up to thefire and was looking at it. 

The creature was on all-fours and had its back to me, while the darknessof the night prevented me from making it out properly; but it looked tome very large and dark coloured, and I had read that the strength ofthese creatures was enormous. 

It crouched there about five yards from where I lay, and as I wonderedwhether I had better shoot, I suddenly recollected that both barrels ofmy gun were loaded with small shot, and that at such a distance, thoughthe shot would well hang together, they were not certain to make amortal wound; while the result would be that the monster would be morefierce and terrible than it was before. 

I don't think I was afraid to fire, but I hesitated, and as I waited Ifelt that there was a possibility of the animal not being aware of ourpresence, for it was evidently the fire that had attracted it. 

But these hopes came to an end directly, and I raised my gun softly tomy shoulder, for the creature seemed about to crawl towards me. Thiswas only for a moment or two though, and then there was a peculiarscratching noise as if the monster was tearing at the bushes, and Icould dimly see its great back waving to and fro. Then all at once thescratching ceased, and it seemed to have thrown some twigs and leavesupon the fire, which blazed up, and my gun nearly fell from my hand. 

"Ebo!" I shouted; and as my uncle sprang up and we crept out into theruddy light spread by the burning wood, there was my monster in theshape of our trusty follower, dancing about like mad, and chatteringaway as he pointed to the fire, then to himself, then to a distance, andseemed to be trying to make us understand that he had seen the fire andtracked us by its light to where we were. 

His delight seemed to know no bounds, for whenever he came to a pause inhis performance and stood grinning at us, he broke out again, leapingabout, running away, coming back, and shouting and laughing as heslapped himself loudly with his hands. I can compare his conduct tonothing but that of a dog who has just found his master. 

The question now arose what was to be done, and by a good deal of sign--making we asked Ebo to lead us back to the camp; but he shook his headand stamped and frowned, and to cut the matter short threw some morewood on the fire, pushed us both into our leaf tent, lay down across thefront, and went to sleep. 

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE. 

MY EARTHQUAKE. 

I said very little to my uncle about my alarm, feeling sure that hewould laugh very heartily at my mistake, but I lay awake for some littlewhile thinking that it was time I grew to be more manly and brave, andnot so ready to be frightened at everything I could not directlyunderstand. It seemed so shocking, too, for I might in my cowardly fearhave shot poor Ebo, who was one of the best and truest of fellows, andseemed never so happy as when able to do something for me. 

My last thoughts before I went to sleep were that I hoped I might growinto a brave and true man, and I determined to try hard not to be such aweak coward. 

I have often thought since, though, that if any ordinary man had beenplaced in the same situation he would have been as nervous as I; for toawake out of a deep sleep in a dark forest in a wild land, wheredangerous beasts might be lurking, to hear a peculiar rustling noise, and through the faint light to make out the figure of the black, lookingbig and indistinct as he crept on all-fours, was, to put it as you may, very startling. 

I was ready enough to laugh at all the dread when I awoke in the morningto find the sun just up, and sending his rays through the long vistas oftrees, where the birds were whistling, twittering, and screaming loudly, while every now and then from a distance came the hoarse cry of thebirds of paradise. 

"It is terribly tempting, Nat, " said my uncle, "but I think we hadbetter make straight for camp and get a good breakfast before we doanything else. Hallo! what is Ebo doing?"

"Making up the fire, " I said; and directly the black had thrown on agreat armful of dead wood he came to us laughing and rubbing the frontof his person, squeezing himself in to show how empty he was, afterwhich he picked up a stick, took aim at a bird, said "_Bop_!" and ran topick it up; coming back laughing for us to applaud his performance. 

"Well, Nat, that's a piece of dumb-show that says very plainly we are toshoot some birds for breakfast before we do anything else, and it wouldperhaps be wise, so come along; there are some of our old friends inthat great palm-tree. "

I followed my uncle closely, and we had no difficulty in shooting threeof the great pigeons, which Ebo pounced upon and carried off in triumph, and in a few minutes they were roasting upon sticks, while our blackcook busied himself in climbing a cocoa-tree, from which he detachedhalf a dozen nuts, each of which came down with a tremendous thud. 

I was terribly hungry, but Uncle Dick said we should be worse if westopped there smelling the roasting pigeons. So we took our guns andwent across an opening to where there was tree after tree, rising somethirty or forty feet high, all covered with beautiful whitesweet-scented starry flowers, each with a tube running up from it likethat of a jasmine. 

All about this beautiful little birds were flitting, and as we watchedthem for some time I could see their feathers flash and glitter in thesunshine, as if some wore tiny helmets of burnished gold andbreastplates of purple glittering scales. No colours could paint thebeauty of these lovely little creatures, which seemed to be of severaldifferent kinds, for some had patches of scarlet, of orange, blue, andwhite to add to the brilliancy of their feathering; and so little usedwere they to the sight of man that they seemed to pay no attention tous, but allowed us to go very close, so that we could see them flit andhover and balance themselves before the sweet-scented starrybell-flowers, into whose depths they thrust their long thin beaks afterthe honey and insects that made them their home. 

I soon learned from my uncle that they were the sun-birds, the tinylittle fellows that were in the Old World what the humming-birds were inthe New, for there are no humming-birds in the East. 

Following Uncle Dick's example, I took the shot out of my gun, for hesaid that the concussion and the wad would be sufficient to bring themdown. But, somehow, we were so interested in what we saw that neitherof us thought of firing, and there we stood watching the glitteringfeathers, the graceful motions, and the rapidity with which these tinybirds seemed to flash from blossom to blossom, till a loud yell from Ebosummoned us to breakfast. 

"Yes, Nat, " said my uncle, who seemed to read my thoughts, "that is theway to see the beauty of the sun-birds. No stuffed specimens of ourswill ever reproduce a hundredth part of their beauty; but people cannotalways come from England to see these things. Take care! What's that?"

We were going through rather a dense patch of undergrowth, where theground beneath was very soft and full of water, evidently from someboggy springs. There was a great deal of cane and tall grass, withwater weeds of a most luxuriant growth, and the place felt hot andsteamy as we forced our way through, till, as I was going first andparting the waving canes right and left with my gun barrel, I steppedupon what seemed to be a big branch of a rotten tree that had fallenthere, when suddenly I felt myself lifted up a few inches and jerkedback, while at the same moment the canes and grass crashed and swayed, and something seemed to be in violent motion. 

"Is it an earthquake, uncle?" I said, looking aghast at the spot fromwhence had been jerked. 

"Yes, Nat, and there it goes. Fire, boy, fire!"

He took rapid aim a little to the left, where the canes and broad-leavedplants were swaying to and fro in a curious way, just as if, it seemedthen, a little pig was rushing through, and following his example Ifired in the same direction. 

But our shots seemed to have no effect, and whatever it was dashed offinto a thicker part, where it was too swampy to follow even if we hadbeen so disposed. 

"Your earthquake has got away for the present, Nat, " said my uncle. "Did you see it?"

"No, uncle, " I said. 

"But you must have trodden upon it, and it threw you back. "

"No, uncle; I trod upon the trunk of a small tree, that was all. "

"You trod upon a large serpent, Nat, my boy, " he exclaimed. 

"Ugh!" I ejaculated; and I made a jump back on to more solid ground. 

"The danger has passed now, Nat, " he said, smiling at my dread; "butreally I could not have believed such a creature existed in so small anisland. "

"Oh, uncle!" I cried, "I shall never like to go about again for fear oftreading upon another. "

"You will soon get over that, Nat, and perhaps we may have the luck toshoot the brute. I don't think we did it much mischief this time, though I got a good sight of it as it glided amongst the canes. "

"Why, we had no shot in our guns, uncle, " I cried; "we took them out soas not to knock the sun-birds about too much. "

"Of course!" cried my uncle. "How foolish of me not to remember this!"

We had both reloaded now, and then, without heeding a shout from Ebo, westood looking in the direction taken by the reptile, though now all theluxuriant canes and grasses were quite still. 

"What do you say, Nat?" said my uncle. "Shall we follow the monster andtry and shoot it?"

"It must be forty or fifty feet long, uncle, " I said, feeling a curiouscreeping sensation run through me. 

"Forty or fifty nonsenses, my boy!" he said, laughing. "Such serpentsas that only exist in books. They rarely exceed twenty feet where theyare largest. That fellow would not be fifteen. What do you say--willyou come?"

"Ye-es, uncle, " I said hesitatingly, feeling hot and cold by turns. 

"Why, Nat, " he said quietly, "you are afraid!" I did not speak for amoment or two, but felt the hot blood flush into my face as I stoodthere looking him full in the eyes, and unable to withdraw my gaze. 

"Yes, uncle, " I said at last. "I did not want to be, but a serpent issuch a horrible thing, and I am afraid. "

"Yes, it is a horrible monster, Nat, " he said quietly. "I don't likethem myself, but if we could kill it--"

"I can't help feeling afraid, uncle, " I said, "but I'm ready to go onnow. "

"What! to attack it, Nat?"

"Yes, uncle. "

"It will be rather dangerous, my boy. "

"Yes, uncle, " I said. "I suppose so; but I want to get over being soafraid of things. I'm quite ready now. "

I looked to him to come on at once, but he did not move, and stoodlooking at me for some minutes without speaking. 

"Then we will go and attack the brute, Nat, " he said; "but it will notgo away from that bit of a swamp, so we will try and put a little morenerve into our hearts with a good breakfast, and then have Ebo to helpus, unless he proves to be a worse coward than you. "

"He could not be, uncle, " I said pitifully; and I felt very, verymiserable. 

"Oh! yes, he could be, Nat, my boy, " said my uncle, smiling, andgrasping me affectionately by the arm. "You are a coward, Nat, but youfought with your natural dread, mastered it, and are ready to go andattack that beast. Master Ebo may be a coward and not fight with andmaster his dread. So you see the difference, my boy. "

Another shout from the black made us hasten our steps to where he wasdancing about and pointing to the crisp brown pigeons, big as chickens, with great green leaves for plates, and the new ripe cocoa-nuts divestedof their husks; but for a few moments I could not eat for thinking ofthe serpent. My fresh young appetite asserted itself though soon after, and, forgetting the danger to come, I made one of the most delicious ofmeals. 

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR. 

MANY FEET OF UNPLEASANTRY. 

It was only while I was scraping out the last of the delicate cream fromthe inside of a huge cocoa-nut that I recalled the task we had to come, and a curious shiver ran through me as I glanced in the direction of theswamp where, nearly a mile away, the reptile lay. 

Ebo knew nothing about it as yet, and I hardly conceived how he would bemade to understand what we had seen. 

"Do you think he will be ready to help kill the serpent, uncle?" Isaid, after waiting for some time to see if he would say anything aboutthe attack. 

"I hardly know, Nat, " he replied cheerily; "but we'll soon try him. Bythe way, use the cartridges with the largest kind of shot, for we mustmake up for this morning's mistakes. Here, Ebo, we've seen a snake, " hesaid. 

"Ung-kul, Nat-mi-boi. Hal-lo, hal-lo hal-lo!" replied Ebo, laughingmerrily, and showing his white teeth. 

"We shall not get at his understanding like that, " said my unclequietly; and he sat thinking for a moment. 

"Shall I try and draw a snake, uncle?" I said. 

"To be sure, Nat, " he replied, laughing; "but where are paper, pencil, or chalk? Stop a minute--I have it. "

We generally carried a stout piece of cord with us, ready for anyemergency, and this cord, about ten yards long and a little thicker thanclothes-line, my uncle now untwisted from his waist, where he had wornit like a belt, and calling Ebo's attention to it he laid it out uponthe ground. Then holding one end he made it wave about and crawl andcurve and twine, ending by knotting it up in a heap and laying the endcarefully down as if it were a serpent asleep. 

Ebo watched the process attentively, at first seriously and then as ifdelighted, clapping his hands, dancing, and chattering away as iftelling my uncle how clever he was. 

"But that does not show him what we want, uncle, " I said. 

"Well, then, you try. "

I took up the rope, made it undulate a little, and then as Ebo looked onI gave it a quick twist and wound it round him, pretending to make theend bite. 

He took to it directly, pretending that the reptile was crushing him, fighting his way free of the folds, picking up his club and attacking itin turn, beating the make-believe head with his club, and finallyindulging in a war-dance as he jumped round, dragging the imaginaryserpent after him, pretending all the while that it was very heavy, before stooping down to smell it, making a grimace, and then throwingdown the rope, which he pretended to bury in the sand. 

"It's all right, Nat. He understands, and has evidently encountered bigsnakes. Now, then, to show him our enemy, for he will fight. "

My uncle was right, for it was evident that Ebo quite understood us andmeant fighting, for, sticking his spear in the ground, he made signs tome that I should lend him my hunting-knife, which I at once did, andlaughing and chattering away he looked about him a little, and thenproceeded to cut down a sapling tree about as thick as his arm, fromwhose trunk he selected a piece a couple of feet in length and carefullytrimmed it into a formidable club with a smooth, small handle, while heleft the thick end jagged with the ugly places from which he had cut thebranches. 

He was not long in getting it into shape, and no sooner had he satisfiedhimself with his work than he returned my hunting-knife, making believethat he was horribly afraid lest it should cut off his head, and thenproceeded to attack an imaginary serpent that was trying to escapethrough the bushes. Now he was trying to strike it, now retreating, nowmaking blows at it upon the ground, now in the air, ending by droppinghis club and seizing the neck of the creature, which he pretended hadcoiled round him; now he was down upon one knee, now overthrown androlling over and over in a fierce struggle; but at last his acting cameto a conclusion by his striking the reptile's head against a tree, kicking off an imaginary coil from his leg, and strutting about proudlyto show how he had conquered. 

The most surprising part of the affair was that he did not seem to be inthe slightest degree exhausted by his efforts, but picked up his cluband began chattering to us, and pointing to the marsh as if asking us tocome on. 

"Well, Nat, " said my uncle, "if he will only fight half as well as thatwhen we encounter the serpent, there ought to be nothing to fear. Weought to master the brute easily. "

"Would such a serpent be very strong, uncle?" I asked. 

"Wonderfully strong, " he replied. "Their muscles are tremendouslypowerful. See what strength anything of similar form possesses; an eel, for instance. "

"Yes, uncle, " I said thoughtfully, as I recalled how difficult I hadonce found it to hold a large one that I had caught. "Eels are verystrong. "

"Look here, Nat, " said my uncle kindly, "I don't think we should run anyrisks in following up this serpent, for one good shot would disable it;but still it may be a little perilous, and it is not just to expect aboy of your age to face such a danger. You stop back at a distance, andI will send Ebo into the marsh to drive it out, while I try to get ashot at it. "

"Oh, no, uncle!" I said quickly. 

"Come now, my boy, " he cried, clapping me on the shoulder. "You aregoing because you think I shall consider you cowardly if you staybehind. I tell you truly, Nat, I shall not. "

"I did feel something of that kind, uncle, " I said warmly; "but that isnot all. I want to try and be brave and to master all my cowardlyfeelings, and this seems such a chance. "

He stood looking at me for a few minutes, and then said quietly:

"Very well then, Nat, you shall come. But be careful with your gun, anddo not fire unless you have a clear shot. Don't hurry, and mind thatEbo is not near. As to the danger, " he said, "there is very little. The worst thing that could happen would be that the serpent might seizeyou. "

I could not help a shudder. 

"Coil round you. "

The shudder felt now was the serpent wrapping me round. 

"And giving you a severe squeeze, " continued my uncle. "It is a hundredto one against its teeth catching you in the face, and it is doubtfulwhether they would penetrate your clothes, and even if they did youwould suffer no worse than from a few thorns, for these constrictingreptiles are not poisonous. "

"It don't sound very nice, uncle, " I said, feeling as if my face wasshowing white through the brown of the sunburns. 

"No, Nat, it does not, " he said; "but now I have told you the worst Imay as well say something on the other side. Now the chances are thatthe brute will try its best to escape, and be shot in the act; and evensupposing that it did seize you, which is no more likely than that itshould seize Ebo or me, we should immediately get hold of it by the neckand have its head off before it knew where it was. "

"Yes, uncle, I know you would, " I said with more confidence and astrange thrill of excitement running through me. "Let me come, please. "

"You shall, Nat, " he replied; "and now I'll confess to you, my boy, thatI should have felt disappointed if you had held back. Come along, mylad, and I think we shall soon slay this modern dragon. "

All this time Ebo had been looking at us wonderingly; but no sooner didwe examine our guns and start forward, than he shouldered his club andwent before us towards the piece of marshy ground. 

I walked on by uncle's side with my gun ready, and all the time I kepton wondering what he would have said to me if he had known how nervous Ifelt. 

The thoughts of what we were approaching seemed to take all thebrightness and beauty out of the scene, which was as lovely as could be. Strange birds flew by us, glorious trees were on every side, some ofthem covered with flowers, while the brilliant greens of various shadesmade up for the want of colour in others. Where we were the land seemedto slope down into a little valley, while farther back there was a ridgeclothed to its summit with beautiful vegetation. 

But just then, as the poetical writer said, the trail of the serpent wasover it all, and I kept on seeing imaginary reptiles' heads reared abovethe beautiful waving canes and grasses, and fancied I detected therustling noise made by the creature's scales as they glided through thedry stems. 

"Now, " said my uncle, as we stood at last on the edge of the moistdepression, "we must contrive some plan of attack, Nat. We must not letthe enemy escape, or he will be scaring us all the time we stay. "

I thought it very kind of him to say _us_ when I know he meant _you_, but I did not say anything, only eagerly searched the thickly-spreadcanes and broad-leaved plants as far as I could see with my eyes, andthen I could not help thinking what a beautiful spot that marsh was inspite of the serpent, as two or three of the lovely pitta thrushesflitted amidst the bamboos, and half a dozen sun-birds darted about aconvolvulus-like plant, and kept flashing in the sunshine, which everynow and then seemed to make their feathers blaze. 

"Now, Nat, " said my uncle, "I think this will be a good place for you, by this trickling rill; you see the place is roughly in the shape of aham, so you shall have the place of honour, my boy, by the knuckle-bone, while I and Ebo go round the fat sides and see if we can find the enemythere. "

"Do you think it will come this way, uncle?" I said. 

"Yes, Nat, just below you there, so be cool, and give it both yourbarrels as it goes by. You may depend upon one thing, and that is thatthe reptile, if it comes down here, will be trying hard to escape. Itwill not attack you. "

I hoped Uncle Dick was right, but could not feel sure, as I remained onthe side of the steep slope, at the bottom of which a tiny streamtrickled amongst a long patch of luxuriant canes through which Iexpected the serpent would try to escape to another part of the island. 

The next minute I was quite alone, for in obedience to my uncle's signs, and eagerly falling into his plans, Ebo ran off to get to the back ofthe little marsh, my uncle also disappearing quietly on my own side, butof course higher up. 

"Perhaps the serpent won't be here after all, " I thought to myself as Istood there in the midst of the profound silence; and I could not keepback the hope within me that this might be the case. 

Everything was now very still, only that once from a distance came thehoarse cry of a bird of paradise and the scream of a parrot, butdirectly after I seemed to detect the peculiar noise made by a hornbill, one of which birds flapped across the little valley towards a clump oftrees. 

Not a sound came from beyond the cane swamp, and the slightest grasseshardly moved, but stood there with their feathery plumes bathed insunshine, while with strained eyes I counted the knots on everylight-brown and cream-coloured cane. 

I was watching for a wavy, undulating movement, which I felt sure mustfollow if the serpent was there and creeping about; but all wasperfectly still. 

"It must be farther up to the top of the marsh than he thinks, " I saidto myself; and then I heard a cry which made my blood bound through myveins. But there was nothing the matter; it was only Ebo on the move, and I heard my uncle answer him. Then there was a beating noise as ifthe black was thrashing the canes with his club. 

Then my heart seemed to leap to my mouth, for there was a rustling inthe tall grasses, something seemed to be forcing its way through, andwith my gun at my shoulder I was ready to fire at the first glimpse ofthe scaly skin, but feathers appeared instead, and a couple of largewading-birds flew out. 

The beating went on, and bird after bird took flight from itslurking-place, some being very beautiful; but no serpent appeared, and Ibegan to feel more bold. 

Still the beating went on, with Ebo shouting from time to time and myuncle answering, till they could not have been more than fifty yardsabove me, when suddenly the black seemed to change his tone, shoutingexcitedly to my uncle. 

"They've found it, " I said to myself; and in my excitement I forgot allabout my fears, and stood there with my eyes sweeping the cane growthand my ears strained to their utmost. 

All at once, and so close that the noise made me jump, I heard a shot, followed by a shout from Ebo, and a loud crashing noise, as if the caneswere being thrashed together with a big stick. 

Bang once more, and then perfect silence, but directly after thethrashing, beating noise began once more, and as I gazed excitedly inthat direction I heard my uncle's voice. 

"Look out, Nat, " he cried. "It's coming your way. "

"Yolly-to, yolly-to!" cried Ebo; but I hardly heard him, for, rushingdown amongst the reeds and canes, writhing and bounding in the mostextraordinary way, beating, whipping the tall leaves, tying itself up inknots and then throwing itself out nearly straight, came what to meseemed to be a most monstrous serpent. 

I ought to have fired, but as the reptile came towards me I felt as if Imust run, and I turned and fled for a dozen yards before shame stoppedme, and I faced about. 

The creature was close at hand, writhing horribly, and leaving behind ita beaten track, as in a fit of desperation I raised my gun, took quickaim, and fired, leaped aside to get away from the smoke, and fired againat something close to me. 

The next moment I was knocked down, my gun flying out of my hand, andwhen I struggled up the serpent was gone. 

"Hurt, Nat?" cried my uncle, who came running up with Ebo, who began tofeel me all over. 

"I don't think I am, uncle, " I said angrily; "but the thing gave me ahorrible bang. "

"Pick up your gun then and come along, lad. You hit the brute with bothbarrels, and I know I did once. Come along; load as you run. "

Ebo had already gone on in the serpent's track, for after I had beensent over by a blow as the reptile writhed so fiercely, it hadstraightened itself out, and gone straight down the little valleytowards more open ground. 

"Obe-ally-yolly!" shouted Ebo, and running after him I found that theserpent was gliding about in a rapid way amongst some tall trees, withthe black darting at it and hitting it with his club from time to time, but apparently without making any impression. 

"Stand back, Ebo, " cried my uncle, waving the black away, and then, asEbo leaped back, preparing to fire. But he lowered his gun as I cameup. "No, " he said, "you shall give him the _coup de grace_, Nat;" andfeeling no fear now I finished the loading of my gun and went in amongthe trees. 

"Fire at its head, Nat, " cried my uncle; but it was not easy to see it, for the creature kept on twining about in a wonderfully rapid way; butat last I caught it as the head came from behind a tree trunk, fired, and the monster leaped from the ground and fell back in a long straightline, perfectly motionless, till Ebo darted in to give it a final thumpwith his club, when, to my astonishment, the blow seemed to electrifythe creature, which drew itself up into a series of waves, and kept onthrobbing as it were from end to end. 

"Shall I fire again, uncle?" I said excitedly. 

"No, Nat, " he replied; "it would only be slaying the slain. Bravo, myboy! you did capitally. "

"But I ran away at first, uncle, " I said sorrowfully. "I did not stopwhen the serpent first came out. "

"It was enough to make a Saint George run away from such a dragon, Nat, "he said laughing. "I could not have believed such a serpent existed inthese isles. Let's see how long he is. "

"Thirty feet, uncle, " I cried excitedly. 

"Your eyes magnify this morning, Nat, " he said merrily. "No, my boy, "he continued, after pacing along by the writhing creature's side; "thatserpent is barely fourteen feet long, but it is wonderfully thick forits size, and it proves that there must be animals here such as wouldform its prey. "

"Shall you have it skinned, uncle?" I asked. 

"Yes, " he replied, handing his knife to Ebo, who readily understood whatwas wanted, and leaving him to his very nasty job, my uncle and I wentin search of birds of paradise. 

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE. 

ANOTHER FISHING TRIP. 

We had a long tramp after the birds of paradise that day, but did notget one. We shot some lovely sun-birds though, and a couple of thrushessuch as we had not seen before. Our walk took us well in sight of thesea once more, and we began to have a pretty good idea of the form ofthe island. But the more we went about the more my uncle was satisfiedthat it was only a matter of time to make here a glorious collection ofthe birds of the eastern islands. We saw four different kinds of birdsof paradise in our walk, though we did not get one on account of theirshyness, but we did not despair of getting over that; and at last, welltired out, we returned to Ebo, who had hung up the serpent's skin todry, and following his guidance till nightfall we got back to our hut bythe sea-shore, where the boat lay perfectly safe, and being too tired tomake a fire and cook, we lay down and fell asleep at once. 

It was still dark when I was awakened by a hand shaking my arm, and, starting up, there was the black face of Ebo bent over me. 

"Ikan-ikan, " he kept on repeating. 

"Ikan--fish, " said my uncle, starting up. "Yes, we may as well get somefor a change, Nat;" and in a few minutes we were all down on the sandlaunching the boat, which rode out lightly over the rollers. 

We had plenty of fishing-lines, so fine that Ebo shook his head at them, and proceeded to show us how easily they would break; but after tryingover and over again without success, and only cutting his hands, hegrinned and jumped up to dance, but evidently thinking there was no roomhe settled down again and began to examine some hooks and glittering tinbaits which we had in a box. 

These he scanned most carefully as the boat skimmed along, my unclesteering, and after trying the sharpness of the hooks he performed whatalways seemed to me a conjuring trick, in bringing a couple ofmother-of-pearl baits out of his waist-cloth, with a roll of twine. 

The savages of the East, in fact most of the eastern people, wear a cordround the waist made of a material in accordance with their station. The poorer people will have it of cotton or twisted grass, the wealthierand chiefs of silk, while some have it threaded with gold. This thincord is used as a support for their waist-cloth, and is rarely takenoff, but is fastened so tightly that I have seen it appear completelyburied in the flesh, just as if the wearers had an idea that they oughtto make themselves look as much like an insect as possible. 

Ebo wore a very tight _lingouti_--as it is called--round and over whichhe tucked the coarse cotton cloth which formed his only article ofattire, and it was by means of this cotton cloth that he performed whatI have spoken of as being like conjuring tricks, for somehow or another, although he had the appearance of carrying nothing about with him, hehad always a collection of useful articles stored away in the folds ofthat waist-cloth. 

Upon the present occasion he brought out two mother-of-pearl baits suchas would be used to attract the fish when no real bait could beobtained. 

It was a sight to see Ebo comparing his pearl baits with our specimensof tin and tinned copper, and for a time he seemed as if he could hardlymake up his mind which was the better. Then he laid his coil of linemade of roughly twisted grass beside ours, and inspected the twocarefully, after which he uttered a sigh and put his own away, evidentlyquite satisfied that the civilised article was by far the better. 

We sailed out about a mile and then anchored at the edge of a reef ofcoral, which acted as a shelter against the great rollers which brokefar away upon its edge, seeming to make a ridge of surf, while where welay all was undulating and calm, but with the tide running strongly overthe reef, where the water was not a fathom deep and growing shallowermoment by moment. 

Ebo laid his short club ready to his hand, signing to me to draw my bighunting-knife and place it beside me. 

"That looks as if we were to catch some large and dangerous fish, Nat, "said my uncle; and he drew his own knife before passing to each of us aline with the artificial baits affixed. 

"Won't you fish, uncle?" I asked. 

"No, my boy. You two can fish, and as soon as you catch one we will cuthim up for bait. I don't believe in artificial bait when you can getreal. "

By this time Ebo had thrown out his line and I followed his example, seeing the swift current seize upon the bait and carry it rapidly outover the reef, twinkling and sparkling in the water as I jerked it bypaying out more line. 

All at once, when it was some fifteen yards away. I felt a jerk and asnatch. 

"I've got one, " I said; but the tugging ceased directly, and I felt thatthe fish had gone. 

Either the same, though, or another seized it directly, for there was afierce tug which cut my hand, and I had to give line for a few momentswhile the fish I had hooked darted here and there like lightning, but Ihad it up to the side soon after, and gazed at it with delight, for itwas, as it lay panting in the boat, like a magnificent goldfish, five orsix pounds weight, with bars across its side of the most dazzling blue. 

"Poo--chah--chah!" Ebo cried with a face full of disgust as he twistedhis own line round a peg in the boat, and seizing his club battered thefish to death after unhooking it, and threw it over the side, where, asit was carried away, I could see that dozens of fish were darting at it, tearing it to pieces as fast as they could. 

"What did you do that for?" I cried angrily, for it seemed wasting asplendid fish. 

Ebo chatted away in reply, almost as angrily, after which, evidentlysatisfied that I did not understand, he behaved very nastily, though hisdumb-show was so comic that it made us roar with laughter. 

For he pretended to eat, as we supposed, some of the fish. Then hejumped up, sat down, jumped up again, rubbed his front, kicked out hislegs and shouted, making hideous grimaces as if he were in pain, endingby leaning over the side of the boat, pretending to be horribly sick, and finishing his performance by lying down, turning up his eyes, andmoaning. 

"We must take what he shows us for granted, Nat, " said my uncle, as Ebojumped up smiling, as much as to say, "Wasn't I clever?" "These peopleknow which are the wholesome and which are the unwholesome fish; but Iwas going to use some of that fellow for bait. "

Just then Ebo hooked and brought in a fine fish that was all blue, buteven this one would not do, for he killed it and tossed it overboard, chattering at it the while as if he were abusing it for being so bad. 

We saw scores of fish dart at it as it was thrown in, and now they bitso freely at the artificial baits that there was no occasion to change. 

I had hold of what seemed a nice fish directly, and after letting it runa little I began hauling in, watching its progress through the shallowclear water and thinking how bright and beautiful it looked against thebrilliant corals, the softly waving weeds of every shade of brown andscarlet, while now and then some other fish darted at it. 

All at once I uttered a cry of astonishment, for a long line ofundulating creamy white seemed to dart at my fish, seize it with a jerk, and twist itself round it, till fish and the eel-like creature thatattacked it resembled a knot. 

I kept on hauling in, but only slowly now, for fear the hook shouldbreak out, the weight being double what it was and the water lashed intoglittering foam. 

"What is it, uncle?" I cried excitedly. 

"Don't hurry, Nat, " he replied; and just then Ebo, who had been too busypulling in a fish to notice my line, threw out again, and then fasteninghis cord came over to my side to see. 

No sooner did he make out what I had at the end of the line than heseized his club, gesticulated furiously, and began beating the side ofthe boat, chattering aloud, and signing to me to give him the line. 

"Let him have it, Nat, " said my uncle. "He has had experience withthese things. "

I gave up my hold of the fishing-line most unwillingly, for the littleadventure was intensely exciting, and every jerk and drag made by thecreature that had seized my fish sent a thrill through my arms to myvery heart. 

"It is some kind of sea-snake that has taken your fish, Nat, and isregularly constricting it. As I told you before, there are some of themdangerously poisonous, and not like our great friend out in the swamp. "

Meanwhile Ebo was jerking and shaking the line furiously, as ifendeavouring to get rid of the snake, but without avail, for it held ontightly, having evidently got one fold twisted round the line, and Imust confess, after hearing about the poisonous nature of thesecreatures, to feeling rather nervous as to its behaviour if it werebrought on board. 

But Ebo did not mean to bring it on board. He wanted to shake it off, and what with the struggles of the fish and the writhing and twisting ofthe snake, it seemed every moment as if the line must break. 

The black brought it close in, then let it go almost to the full lengthof the line, jerked it, made fierce snatches, but all in vain; and atlast getting the unwelcome visitor close in, he signed to my uncle totake his knife while he raised his club for a blow, when there was asudden cessation of the rush, and foam in the water, and fish and snakehad gone. 

Ebo grinned with triumph, and after examining the bait threw it outagain, returning to the other side directly to draw in a satisfactoryfish for our breakfast, while my uncle chatted to me about my lastcaptive. 

"This is new to me, Nat, " he said. "I never could have thought thatthese snakes or eels, for they seem to partake of the character of thelatter, would have wound themselves round the prey they seized. Theelongated fish in our part of the world, congers, dog-fish, guard-fish, and similar creatures, fasten their teeth into their prey, then settingtheir bodies in rapid motion like a screw, they regularly cut greatpieces out of their victim. This was precisely the same as a serpentwith its prey, and it is a natural history fact worth recording. Butlook!"

I had already felt a fish snap at my bait, checked it, and knew that Iwas fast into a monster. For a few moments he let me feel somethingheavy and inert at the end of my line, then there was a plunge and arush, the line went hissing out, and try as I would to check it, thefish ran straight off till I dragged with all my might, and felt thateither the line must break or my hands would be terribly cut. 

"Give and take, Nat, " cried my uncle. 

"It's all give, uncle, and I can't take a bit. "

I had hardly said the words when I was at liberty to take in as much asI liked, for the fish was gone, and upon drawing in my line in aterribly disappointed way, it was to find that the fish had completelybitten through the very strong wire gimp, not broken it, but bitten itas cleanly as if it had been done with a knife. 

"That must have been a monster, " said Uncle Dick. "But never mind, myboy. Here, hold still and I'll loop on another bait. "

He was in the act of doing this when Ebo began to dance about in theboat, striving hard to drag in the fish he had hooked. His plan was tohaul in as quickly as he could, never giving the fish a moment's rest, and any form of playing the swift, darting creature did not seem toenter his head. 

He seemed to have found his match this time, for the fish refused to bedragged on board, but after a fierce struggle the black's arms were toomuch for it, and a dozen rapid hand-over-hand hauls resulted in itsbeing hauled over the side, a sharp-nosed glittering silver-fish aboutfour feet long, and I was about to fling myself upon it to hold it downand stop its frantic leaps amongst our tackle, when Ebo uttered a cry ofalarm, darted before me, and attacked the fish with his club, dealing itthe most furious blow upon the head, but apparently without any effect, for as one of the blows fell, the great fish seemed to make a side dartwith its head, and its jaws closed upon the club, holding on so fiercelyand with such power that it was not until Uncle Dick had cut off itshead that the club could be wrenched away, when Ebo showed me thecreature's jaws full of teeth like lancets and pretty well as sharp. 

"No wonder your wire was bitten through, " said my uncle. "Hallo! is henot good to eat?"

Ebo evidently seemed to consider that it was not, for the fish wasthrown over, and the fierce monster, that must have been a perfecttyrant of the waters, had not floated a dozen feet before it wasfuriously attacked and literally hacked to pieces. 

There was no difficulty in getting fish that morning, the only thing wasto avoid hooking monsters that would break or bite through our tackle, and those which were not good for food. 

The reef literally swarmed with fish, some large, some small, and everynow and then we could see the rapid dash of one of the snake-eels as Icalled them. I saw them regularly leap out of the water sometimes andcome down in a knot, twisting and twining about in the mostextraordinary way, and at last, so interesting was the clear, shallowwater, that we laid aside our lines and leaned over the side gazing downat the fish that flashed about, till the reef was dry, and leaving Eboin the boat we landed to walk about over the shining weeds and coral, picking our way amongst shell-fish of endless variety, some with greatheavy shells a couple of feet long, and some so small and delicate thatI had to handle them with the greatest delicacy to keep from crushingtheir tissue-papery shells. 

I could have stayed there for hours and filled the boat with wonders. There was scarlet and orange coral, so beautiful that I was for bringingaway specimens; but Uncle Dick showed me that it was only the gelatinouscovering that was of so lovely a tint, and this, he told me, would soondecay. 

Then there were the brilliantly tinted weeds. There were sea-slugs too, delicacies amongst the Chinese under the name of _trepang_, and so manyother wonders of the sea that I should have gone on searching amongstthe crevices of the sharp coral, if I had not had a sharp warning givento me to make for the boat by the parts that had only been an inch ortwo deep rapidly increasing to a foot, and my uncle shouting to me tocome aboard. 

It was quite time, for I was some distance from the boat, with the tideflowing in so rapidly that in a few minutes I should have had to swim, and a swim in water swarming with such furious kinds of the finny tribewas anything but tempting. 

As it was I had to swim a few strokes, and was of course soaked, but myuncle hauled me uninjured into the boat and I little minded the wetting, but laughed at my adventure as we sat over our breakfast and feastedupon frizzled fish to our hearts' content. 

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX. 

EBO SATISFIES OUR WANTS. 

It would be tedious if I were to go on describing the almost endlessvarieties of birds we shot, glowing though they were with rainbowcolours, and to keep repeating how we skinned and preserved thissun-bird, that pitta, or trogon, or lovely rose-tinted dove. Parrotsand cockatoos we found without number, and as we selected only thefinest specimens, our collection rapidly increased, so fast, indeed, bysteady work, that I began to understand how my uncle had brought sogreat a number from the West. 

But still one of the great objects of our visit to this part of theworld had not been achieved; we had shot no birds of paradise; and thesewere scarce things in England at the time of which I write. 

There were plenty of rough specimens of their plumage worn in ladies'bonnets; but a fair, well-preserved skin was hardly known, those broughtto England being roughly dried by the natives; so at last my uncledeclared that no more birds should be shot and skinned until we hadobtained specimens of some at least of the lovely creatures whose crieswe often heard about us, but which tantalisingly kept out of shot. 

It was a difficult task, but we at last made Ebo understand that we mustshoot some of these birds, when by his way he seemed to indicate that ifwe had only told him sooner we might have had as many as we liked. 

That very day he obtained a good little store of provisions, shoulderedhis spear, and went off by himself, and we saw no more of him forforty-eight hours, when he came back in the most unconcerned way, justas if he had never been out of sight, and sat down and ate all that weput before him. 

After that he lay down and went to sleep for some hours, waking up readyto dance around us, chattering vehemently until we had finished theskins we were preserving, when he signed to us to take our guns and tofollow him. 

We obeyed him, but he did not seem satisfied until we had collected someprovision as well, when once more he set off, taking us through a partof the island we had not visited before, and, if anything, morebeautiful than that we had. 

It was a long journey he took us, and we could have secured hundreds ofbrilliantly coloured birds, but we only shot a few large ones, such aswe knew to be good food, ready for our halt by the camp fire, for itseemed that we were not to return to our hut that night. 

Over hillsides, down in valleys where tree-ferns sprang up, of the mostbeautifully laced fronds, great groves of palms and clumps of cocoa-nuttrees, some of whose fruit Ebo climbed and got for us, and still we wenton, avoiding the marshy-looking spots which experience had taught us tobe the home of the serpents, which, in very small numbers, inhabited theisle. 

Several times over we looked inquiringly at Ebo, but he only smiled andpointed forward, and we followed him till he stopped suddenly and showedus some wood ready for making a fire. 

Here we had a welcome rest and a hearty meal, but he did not let us staylong, hurrying us forward, till, just before sundown, he brought us to adense patch of forest, with huge trees towering upward and spreadingtheir branches, making an impenetrable shade. 

"It will be too dark to travel far here to-night, Nat, " said my uncle. "Where does he mean to go? But this ought to be the place for the birdsof paradise, Nat, if we are to get any. "

Just then Ebo stopped, and we found a rough hut of leaves with a bed offern already waiting for us, this having been part of his work duringhis prolonged absence. 

His delight knew no bounds as he saw that we were pleased, and as usualhe indulged in a dance, after which he caught us in turn by the arm andtried very hard to explain that the birds of paradise were plentifulhere. 

We were too tired to think about anything much besides sleep, and verygladly crept into our hut, to sleep so soundly without a single thoughtof serpents or huge apes, that I seemed hardly to have closed my eyes, and felt exceedingly grumpy and indisposed to move when Ebo beganshaking me to get me up. 

"All right!" I said, and then, as I lay still with my eyes closed, Ebokept on:

"Hawk, hawk, hawk; kwok, kwok, kwok;" and it seemed so stupid of him, but there it was again; "Hawk, hawk, hawk; kwok, kwok, kwok. "

"Come, Nat, " cried my uncle; "unbutton those eyelids, boy, and get up. Don't you hear the birds calling?"

"I thought it was Ebo, uncle, " I said. "Oh! I am so sleepy. "

"Never mind the sleepiness, Nat. Come along and let's see if we cannotget some good specimens. "

Just then I saw Ebo's face in the opening, and cutting a yawn right inhalf I followed my uncle out into the darkness, for though the birds ofparadise were calling, there was no sign of day. 

But if we wished for success I felt that we must get beneath the treesunseen, and, examining my gun, I followed my uncle, who in turn keptclose behind Ebo. 

The black went forward very cautiously, and looking very strange andmisty in the darkness; but he evidently knew what he was about, goingalong amongst the great tree trunks without a sound, while we followedas lightly as we could. 

On all sides we could hear the hoarse cries of the birds, which we feltmust be in good numbers, and I felt less sleepiness now in the freshmorning air, and a curious feeling of excitement came over me as Ithought of the lovely amber plumes of these birds, and wondered whetherI should be fortunate enough to bring one down. 

All at once Ebo stopped beneath an enormous tree, and as we crept upclose to its mighty trunk we gazed up into the darkness and could hereand there catch a glimpse of a star; in fact, so black was it, that butfor the cries of the various birds we heard, it might have been takenfor the middle of the night. 

There was nothing to see but an almost opaque blackness, though now andthen I fancied I could make out a great branch crossing above my head. It seemed nonsense to have come, but the loud cry of one of the birds wesought, sounded loudly just then and silenced my doubts. I raised mygun ready for a shot, but could see nothing. 

Just then my uncle whispered with his lips to my ear: "Don't make asound, and don't fire till you have a good chance. Look out. "

The loud quok, quok, quok, was answered from a distance, repeated aboveour heads, and then there was the whistle of wings plainly heard in thesolemn silence of the forest, and all this repeated again overhead tillit seemed as if we were just beneath a tree where the birds of paradisemet for discussion, like the rooks at home in the elms. But no matterhow I strained my eyes I could not distinguish a single bird. 

The minutes went by, and I longed for the light, for though I knew itwould betray our presence, still I might catch sight of one bird andbring it down. But the light did not come, and as my arms ached withholding up my gun I lowered it, and patiently waited with my heartbeating heavily, as I listened to the cries that were on the increase. 

All at once I felt an arm glide over my shoulder, and I could just makeout that Ebo was pointing upward with his black finger steadily in onedirection. 

I tried to follow it but could see nothing, and I was thinking how muchbetter a savage's sight was than ours, when from out of the darknessthere came the hoarse "_Hawk, hawk, hawk; quok, quok, quok_, " and as thecry seemed to direct my eye, I fancied that I could see something movingslightly at a very great height, bowing and strutting like a pigeon. Ilooked and looked again and could not see it; then a star that waspeeping through the leaves seemed to be suddenly hidden, and there wasthe movement again. 

I forgot all about my uncle's orders about not firing until I had a goodchance, and taking a steady aim at the dimly seen spot just as thehoarse cry arose once more, I drew the trigger. 

The flash from my gun seemed to cut the blackness, and the report wentechoing away amongst the trees; then there was a sharp rustling noise, and a dull, quick thud, and I was about to spring forward and seek forwhat I had shot, but Ebo's arms closed round me and held me fast. 

I understood what he meant, and contented myself with reloading my gun, the click of the lock sounding very loud in the silence that had ensued, for the report of my gun had caused a complete cessation of all cries, and I felt that we should get no more shots for some time; but all thesame I had heard no rush of wings as of a flock of birds taking flight, and I wondered whether any of them were still in the dense top of thetree. 

Five or ten minutes must have elapsed, and then once more Ebo's armglided over my shoulder and rested there, while I laid my cheek againstit, and gazed in quite another direction now till I fancied I saw whathe was pointing at, but which looked like nothing but a dark spot highup amongst the twigs; in fact, when I did make it out I felt sure thatit was a nest. 

But I recalled how accurate Ebo had been before, and once more takingaim, making it the more careful by leaning my gun barrel against thetrunk of the tree, I fired; there was a quick rustle of leaves andtwigs, and another dull thud, but no one moved. 

After a few minutes' waiting Ebo pointed out another, whatever it was, for I was still in doubt as to whether these were birds of paradise thatI had shot, for the silence had not been broken since I fired first. 

I took a quicker aim this time and drew the trigger, and once more therewas a heavy fall through the branches, and then as if by magic it seemedto be daylight, and I saw several big birds dotted about the tree. 

Uncle Dick and I fired together, and then came a rush of wings asanother bird fell, the loud cries being repeated from a distance; whileEbo, evidently considering that it was of no more use to wait, ran outto pick up the birds. 

Only one bird had fallen when my uncle and I fired together, for Ibelieve I missed; but as Ebo and I picked up the result of ourexpedition here the sun rose, and in the bright light that came betweenthe trees we stood gazing in ecstasy at the lovely creatures. 

"Oh, uncle!"

That was all I could say for some time. 

"I think it ought to be `Oh, Nat!'" he replied laughing. "Why, youyoung dog, what eyes you have! you got all the luck. "

"Oh no, uncle, " I said laughing; "I shot with Ebo's eyes. "

"Then next time I'll do the same, " he said. 

"But let's go and shoot some more, " I said excitedly. 

"No, Nat, we shall get no more of these to-day. I suppose it will onlybe by hiding in the darkness beneath the trees they frequent that weshall have any success. They are wonderfully shy, and no wonder whenthey have such plumage to protect. "

I suppose most people have seen specimens of the great bird of paradise, but they can have no conception of the beauty of a freshly shot specimensuch as were two of those which I brought down. I felt as if I couldnever tire of gazing at the wonderful tinting of the bird, here of apale straw yellow with the feathers short and stiff like velvet, thereof a rich chocolate with the neck covered with scales of metallic green. Their tails seemed to have, in place of centre feathers, a couple oflong beautiful curving wires nearly a yard long; but the chief beauty ofthe birds was the great tuft of plumage which seemed to come out frombeneath the wings, light and soft, quite two feet long, and all of arich golden orange. 

It seems to me impossible to conceive a more lovely bird, and we tookthem in triumph to our hut, where we breakfasted, my uncle afterwardscarefully making skins of all four. 

The other two were evidently younger birds, and had not their fullplumage, but they were very beautiful and formed a splendid addition tothe collection. 

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN. 

BEAUTIES IN PLUME. 

Our work done, my uncle decided that we should stay here for a couple ofdays at least, even if we did not afterwards come round to this side ofthe island, for our good fortune was not yet at an end. In taking alook round, towards mid-day we heard a harsh cry, and by means of alittle stalking Uncle Dick got within shot and brought down a bird thatwas almost as beautiful as those we shot before daylight. 

This had shorter plumes of a rich red, but it had two long double curvedwires in its tail, and its upper plumage was more plush-like and richerin its colours. The metallic green was more vivid, the golden yellow acolour which was most bright upon its neck and shoulders. 

Almost directly after I shot a big dull brown bird which gave me nosatisfaction at all; but Uncle Dick was delighted, saying that it wasthe female bird of the kind we had shot, and we decided that it was thered bird of paradise. 

Even then we had not come to the end of our good fortune, for afterpassing over hundreds of sun-birds, pittas, and trogons, such as weshould have been only too glad to meet a short time back, my unclesuddenly raised his gun and fired at what seemed to be, from where Istood, a couple of sturdy-looking starlings. 

One fell, and Uncle Dick shouted to me as the second bird came in mydirection. 

I made a quick shot at it just as it was darting among some bushes, andbrought it down, and on running to pick it up I found that I had shotsomething entirely fresh to me. 

"Well done, Nat!" cried my uncle. "Mine is only the hen bird. What alovely little creature, to be sure! It is a gem. "

"What is it, uncle?" I said. 

"Evidently a paradise bird, my boy. "

It was a curious little short-tailed fellow, but wonderful in itscolours; while from the centre of the dumpy tail sprang two wires ofabout six inches long, which formed two flat spiral curls at the end, and of a most intense green. Instead of the long plumes of the birds weshot before--birds three times the size of this--it had under each winga little tuft of grey, tipped with green, which the bird could set uplike tiny tans. The whole of the upper surface was of a rich red, andthe under part of a glistening floss-silky or glass-thready white, butrelieved here and there with bands and patches of metallic green. Therewere shades of orange crimson here, and when I add that the bird's legswere of a delicious blue, and its beak of orange yellow like ablackbird's, you can realise how beautiful a creature I had shot. 

"There, Nat, " said my uncle, "we will do no more, only carefullypreserve the treasures we have got. "

But hardly had he spoken before he fired again and brought down anotherbird, which was again a wonder. It seemed about the size of the last, but was entirely different, though sufficiently similar to mark it as aparadise bird. It had nearly as short a tail, with the two centralwires crossed, but instead of forming the beautiful curves of the otherwith the flat disc at the end, these wires ended in a point and curledround so as to form a circle. The prevailing colours were orange, buff, and yellow, but its great peculiarity was a couple of ruffs or capes offeathers hanging from the back of its neck, the upper one of a paleyellow, the lower of a reddish-brown. 

Uncle Dick was in as great a state of delight as I, and our pleasureseemed to be reflected upon Ebo, who showed his satisfaction at havingbrought us to the place, by shouldering his spear and striding up anddown with one hand upon his hip, as if proud of his position ascompanion of the white man. 

The time glided by very fast during our stay at the island, where wefound plenty of fruit, as many fish as we liked to catch, and abundanceof large pigeons and other birds to help our larder. The climate washot, but the breezes that came from the sea always seemed to modify theheat and make it bearable. Several storms occurred, during which thetrees bent before the fury of the blast, and the waves piled the sandshigh with weeds and shells. The lightning was terrific and the thunderdeafening. At times it was awful, and a curious scared feeling used atfirst to come over me. But I soon grew used to the storms, and as theywere soon over, took but little notice of them, except to enjoy thedelicious freshness of the air that seemed afterwards to make everythingten times more beautiful than it was before. 

It would become wearisome if I kept on writing of the beauty of thedifferent varieties of the birds of paradise we found, and the lovelytinting and arrangement of their plumes; let it be sufficient when Itell you that scarcely a day passed without Ebo finding some freshspecimen for us to shoot, and then dancing round with the delight of aboy as we skinned and preserved the new treasure. Sometimes we had abeetle day, sometimes a butterfly day, collecting the loveliestspecimens; but birds formed our principal pursuit, and our cases beganto present a goodly aspect as we packed in carefully the well-driedaromatic skins. 

I had had one or two more slight touches of fever, and my uncle waspoorly once, but he so skilfully treated us both that the disease wassoon mastered, and the trouble passed over. Taken altogether, though, we found the island, in spite of the heat, a most delightful place ofresidence, and it was with feelings of real regret that I sat in ourswift boat one day with the big sail set, skimming over the smooth sea, all our stores on board, and Uncle Dick at the helm steering due north, for we had bidden the beautiful island farewell, and its shores werebeginning to grow distant to our eyes. 

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT. 

EBO DOES NOT APPROVE OF NEW GUINEA FOR REASONS THAT APPEAR. 

It did not seem to matter to Ebo where we went so long as he was withus. He must have been a man of five-and-thirty, and he was brave as alion--as the lion is said to be in the story, for in reality he is agreat sneak--but Ebo seemed to have the heart of a boy. He was ready tolaugh when I did, and sit by me when I was ill or tired, his face fullof sympathy, and no sooner was I better than it was the signal for atriumphal dance. 

Ebo was as happy now as could be. It did not matter to him where wewere going, and he laughed and chattered and pointed out the fish to meas we skimmed over the shallow water of the coral reefs, sometimesapproaching islands whose names we did not know, and which wereapparently too small to be down in the chart; but whatever temptationsthey might hold out my uncle steered right on due north, and on theevening of the second day there was land stretching east and west as faras we could see. 

"Now, Nat, " he cried, "where is your geography? what place is that?"

"I should say it must be New Guinea, uncle, " I said. 

"Quite right, my boy. Hallo! what's the matter with Ebo?"

That gentleman had been lying down in the bottom of the boat fast asleepfor the past three hours, as he was to sit up and bear me companythrough a part of the night; but having woke up and caught sight of theland he seemed to have become furious. 

Having been with us now so long, he had picked up a good many words, just as we had picked up a good many of his, so that by their help andsigns we got along pretty well. But now it was quite startling to seehis excitement. He seemed so agitated that he could only recollect theword _no_, and this he kept on repeating as he dashed at me and thenleft me, to run to my uncle, seizing the tiller and trying to drag itround so as to alter the direction of the boat. 

"No, no, no, no, no!" he cried. Then pointing to the land he came atme, caught up his spear, and I thought he was going to kill me, for hemade a savage thrust at me which went right past my arm; dropped thespear, caught up his club, forced back my head over the gunwale of theboat, raised his club and made believe to beat me to death, hammeringthe boat side with all his might. After this he made a sham attack uponmy uncle, who, however, took it coolly, and only laughed after seeingthe attack upon me, though I had noticed one hand go to his gun when Ebomade at me with the spear. 

After the black had worked himself up into a perspiration, instead of, as I expected, bursting out laughing, he kept on pointing to the land, crying, "No, no, no!" and then, "Kill bird, kill man, Nat, mi boy, killUng-kul Dit; kill Ebo. No, no, no!"

"You mean that the savages will kill us if we land?" I said. 

"Kill, kill, " he cried, nodding his head excitedly, and banging the sideof the boat with his club; "kill, kill, kill. Kill Ebo, kill Nat, miboy, kill Ung-kul Dit, kill boat, kill, kill. No, no, no!"

"Well done, Ebo!" cried my uncle laughing. "Your English is splendid. Good boy. "

"Ebo, good boy, " cried the black. "No, no, no. Kill, kill. "

"They sha'n't kill us, Ebo, " said my uncle, taking up his gun andpointing it at the shore; while, to make his meaning clearer, I did thesame. "Shoot--kill man. "

"Shoot! kill!" cried Ebo, who evidently understood, for he picked up hisspear, and thrust with it fiercely towards the shore. "Yes, shoot; killman, " he continued, nodding his head; but he seemed very muchdissatisfied and gazed intently towards the distant land. 

"He seems to know the character of the New Guinea savages, Nat, " saidUncle Dick. "I have always heard that they are a fierce and cruel set, but we shall soon see whether it is safe to land. "

We sailed gently on, for it turned out a glorious moonlight night, andaltering our course a little we were at sunrise within a couple of milesof what seemed to be a very beautiful country, wooded to the shore, andrising up inland to towering mountains. Great trees seemed to prevaileverywhere, but we saw no sign of human being. 

"The place looks very tempting, Nat, " said uncle, "and if we can hitupon an uninhabited part I expect that we should find some capitalspecimens for our cases. Let us see what the place is like. "

Ebo tried in his fashion to dissuade us from going farther, and it wasevident that the poor fellow was terrible uneasy as the boat was run inclose to the shore, when all at once about a dozen nude black savagescame running down to the water's edge, making signs to us to land, andholding up bunches of bright feathers and rough skins of birds. 

"They look friendly, Nat, " said my uncle. 

"Look here; I will land and take them a few presents in beads and brasswire; we shall soon see if they mean mischief. "

"I'll come with you, uncle, " I said. 

"No; you stop with the boat and keep her afloat. Here are the guns allready loaded. I don't suppose there will be any danger; but if thereis, you must pepper the enemy with small shot to keep them back--thatis, of course, if you see them attack me. "

"Hadn't I better come, uncle?"

"No; I shall take Ebo. They may be as simple-hearted and friendly asthe others we have met, and this country must be so grand a collectingground that I cannot afford to be scared away by what may be falsereports raised by people who have behaved ill to the natives. "

He took out a few strings of brightly coloured beads and a little rollof brass wire, and waved them in the air, when the savages shouted andkept on making signs to us to land. 

We were only about twenty yards from the sandy shore now, and we couldsee every expression of face of the New Guinea men, as my uncle threwone leg over the side and then stood up to his knees in the clear water. 

"Kill Ung-kul Dit, " said Ebo, clinging to his arm. 

"No, no! Come, " replied my uncle. 

Ebo's club was already in his _lingouti_, and picking up his spear hetoo leaped into the water, while I sat down in the boat with the barrelof my gun resting on the gunwale as the sail flapped and the boat rockedsoftly to and fro. 

The people seemed to be delighted as my uncle waded in; but I noted thatthey carefully avoided wetting their own feet, keeping on the dry sandtalking eagerly among themselves; and though I looked attentively Icould see no sign of arms. 

So peaceful and good-tempered did they all look that I was completelythrown off my guard, and wondered how Ebo could be so cowardly as tokeep about a yard behind my uncle, who walked up to them fearlessly, andheld out his hand with a string of beads. 

The New Guinea men chattered and seemed delighted, holding out theirhands and catching eagerly at the beads, snatching them from the giver'shands, and asking apparently for more. 

I saw Uncle Dick sign to them that he wanted some of their birds inexchange. 

They understood him, for they held out two or three skins, and headvanced a step to take them; but they were snatched back directly, and, as if by magic, the savages thrust their hands behind them, and in aninstant each man was flourishing a war-club. 

It all seemed to happen in a moment, and my heart seemed to stand stillas I saw one treacherous savage, over six feet high, strike my uncleover the head with his club, my poor uncle falling as if he had beenkilled. 

It was now that I saw why Ebo had held back behind my uncle, and it wasfortunate that the faithful fellow had followed the guidance of his ownreason. For as, in the midst of a tremendous shouting and yelling, thetall savage bent forward to again strike my uncle I saw Ebo's lancepoint strike him in the throat, and he went down. 

This checked the savages for an instant, long enough to enable the blackto stoop down and get a good grip of Uncle Dick's collar with his lefthand, while with his right he kept making darts with his spear at theyelling savages who kept striking at him with their clubs. 

So tremendous and so true were Ebo's thrusts that I saw another greatblack go down, and a couple more run yelling back towards the densecover from which they had come; but Ebo was in a very critical position. My uncle was heavy, and the black had hard work to drag him over thesand towards the boat, and keep his enemies at bay. 

It was now that I saw what a brave warrior and chief our follower mustbe; but I also saw how his enemies had formed a half circle and weretrying to get behind him and cut him off from the boat. 

For the first few moments I had felt helpless; then I had determined toleap over and go to their help; then I saw that I was best where I was, and took aim, ready to fire at the first chance, for I could do nothingat first for fear of injuring my friends. And besides, a horriblefeeling of compunction had come upon me at the thought of having to fireat men--fellow creatures--and I shrank from drawing trigger. 

At last, though, I saw that further hesitation would be fatal. Ebo wasmaking a brave defence, and had wounded several of his assailants as hedragged my uncle to the water's edge. Another step and he could havewaded, easily dragging my uncle over the water, but his enemies had madea savage dash, and one of the boldest had got hold of his spear. 

Another moment and he would have been struck down, when, hesitating nolonger, I took quick aim and fired right into the thick of the blackgroup as far on one side of my uncle as I could. 

As the report rang out, and the stinging shot hissed and scattered, injuring several, they uttered fierce yells and separated for a moment, giving me a better chance to fire again, and I did with such effect thatthe savage who was dragging at Ebo's spear loosed his hold, turned, andran for his life. 

It was a golden moment for our black friend, who made a couple of dartswith his freed weapon, and then backing rapidly drew my uncle throughthe water towards the boat. 

The savages were staggered by the shot from my gun. Many were wounded, but they were trifling small shot-wounds, which only infuriated them asthey saw their prey escaping, and with a rush they came tearing throughthe water, whirling their clubs above their heads and yelling furiously. 

My blood was up now, and in those brief moments I saw our fate, that ofbeing massacred by these treacherous ruthless wretches, to whom we hadmade offerings of peace and good-will. I seemed to see our batteredboat, and then friends at home waiting for news of those who had sailedout here on a peaceful expedition, news that would never come; and acurious pang came over me as I felt that I must save Uncle Dick and hisbrave defender if I could. 

I had already picked up my uncle's loaded double gun, and there were tworifles also loaded ready to my hand, so, taking careful aim now at theforemost of the savage crew just as they were pressing Ebo hard, Ifired. 

I could not see for a moment for the smoke, but as it parted I saw thatthe men were close enough now for the shot to have much more seriouseffect. Two had fallen, but after a moment's hesitation the others madea fresh rush, which I met with another shot, which checked them again;but though another man fell, and half a dozen more were streaming withblood, they only seemed the more infuriate and again came on. 

I did not even then like to use the fatal rifles, but found time to cramin a couple more cartridges, and by this time Ebo had dragged my uncleto the boat, stooped, lifted him in, and then with one hand upon thegunwale kept shoving her off, backing and wading, and thrusting with hisspear at the fierce wretches who came on more savagely than ever. 

The boat moved slowly, but I was hot with excitement now, and I firedonce at a savage who was striking at Ebo, then at a group, and thenthere was a dull heavy thud as a war-club that had been thrown withclever aim struck me full in the forehead, and I fell senseless in thebottom of the boat. 

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE. 

EBO'S SONG OF TRIUMPH. 

When I came to, it was with a terrible pain in my head, and a mistyfeeling of having been taken by the savages, who had laid me down andwere having a war-dance of triumph around me. 

"Hi, yi, yi--Hi, yi, yi--Hi, yi, yi!"

Then it kept on in a shrill tone till it seemed, as my head ached sobadly, almost maddening. 

At last I raised my heavy eyelids and saw that instead of lying on thesand surrounded by savages, I was some distance from the shore and inthe boat. I could dimly see, as through a mist, the savages on thebeach, and they were shouting, yelling, and threatening us with theirwar-clubs; but it was Ebo who was apparently about to dance the bottomout of the boat, and keeping up that abominable "Hi, yi, yi!" his songof triumph for the victory he had won. 

"Hi, yi, yi--Hi, yi, yi--Hi, yi, yi! _hey_!"

The _Hey_! was accompanied by a tremendous jump, and a flourish of thespear at the savages on shore, whom the defiance seemed to madden asthey rushed about furiously waving their clubs and yelling with alltheir might. Sometimes they dashed into the water right to theirchests, some swam out with their war-clubs in their teeth, and some wentthrough a pantomime in which we were all supposed to be beaten down andbeing pounded into jelly upon the shore. 

All this delighted Ebo, who varied his war-song by making derisivegestures, showing his utter contempt for his cowardly enemies, all ofwhich seemed to sting them to fury, and I began to wonder how we shouldget on if they had canoes. 

For our boat was floating gently along about sixty yards from the shorewith the sail flapping about, the current driving her away, but therollers carrying her in. 

At first I could do nothing but sit there and gaze, sometimes at Ebo, and sometimes at the savages. Then in a sleepy stupid way I looked atmy uncle, who was lying in the bottom of the boat with his eyes closedand perfectly motionless. 

Somehow my state then did not trouble me much, only that I wished myhead would not ache quite so badly. I was quite aware that we were indanger, but that seemed to be quite natural; and at last I began towonder why I did not begin doing something, and why my uncle did not getup. 

At last it seemed to occur to Ebo that it was time for him to finishshouting, and he laid his spear down, came to me, and lifted me, so thatmy head was over the side of the boat, and he then scooped up the coolwater and bathed my face, with such satisfactory effect that I was ableto think clearly; and thanking him, I was about to perform a similarduty for my uncle, when, to my horror, I saw a crowd of savages runninga couple of canoes over the sands, evidently to launch them, and finishthe treacherous work that they had begun. 

For a few moments I felt paralysed, but recovering myself I made a signto Ebo, hoisted the great sail to its fullest height, and as the boatcareened over I hurried aft to the tiller and the sail began slowly tofill, and our boat to move gently through the water. 

But never had it moved so slowly before, for the breeze was very light, and it seemed as if the savages must get their canoes launched, and havepaddled out to us before we could get up any speed. 

They saw this, and kept on shouting and working with all their might, moving first one canoe and then the other to the edge of the water, launching them, springing in, and the next moment the air was black withpaddles. 

Again an instant and the sea was foaming with their vigorous strokes. 

But for the fact that the canoes were very large and heavy and took timeto get well in motion, we must have been overtaken, for the wind seemedto be playing with our sail, one moment filling it out, the next lettingit flap idly as the boat rose and fell upon the waves. 

Seeing that I could do no more I fastened the tiller with a piece ofcord and rapidly reloaded the guns, Ebo picking up his spear, and, to myhorror, beginning to shout at and deride the savages. 

It would have made little difference, I suppose, for the blacks wouldhave killed us without mercy had they overhauled us, and that theyseemed certain to do, for they were paddling steadily and well, theirblades being plunged into the water with the greatest regularity, makingit foam and sparkle as they swept along. 

So fast did they seem to come, uttering in chorus a sort of war-cry ateach plunge of the paddles, that I wondered why they did not overhaulus, so slowly did we seem to move, and at last, as they got their canoesin full swing, they came on hand over hand, getting so near that the menin the bows made ready their spears to hurl, and I raised my gun, meaning to make as brave an end as I could. 

I was too much excited to feel frightened now. I suppose there was nottime, all my thoughts being turned upon the acts of the savages, one ofwhom now threw a spear, which fell short. 

I took aim at him, but did not fire, thinking that I would reserve theshot till we were in greater danger, and hoping that a couple ofwell-directed charges might have the effect of deterring them fromfurther pursuit. But still on they came just abreast, and it wasevident that they meant to attack on each side of our poor little boat, which looked so small beside the long war-canoes, each of whichcontained about forty men. 

They uttered a loud yell now, for the boat seemed to stand still and thesail began to flap, and, somehow, just then, as I felt what dreadfuldanger we were in, I began thinking about Clapham Common, and runningthere in the sunshine, while Uncle Joe looked blandly on, evidentlyenjoying my pursuits. 

Just then half a dozen spears were thrown, and I nearly fell overboard, only saving myself by making a snatch at one of the stays. 

It was not that I was struck by a spear, but that the boat had given aleap and bent down till it seemed as if she would capsize. In fact shewould have gone down with her sail flat upon the water if I had noteased off the sheet as she went slipping through the waves at atremendous rate. 

It was a work of moments, and then when I turned my head it was to seethat the canoes were double the distance behind, with the savagespaddling furiously; but I saw that if the wind held, their case was likethat of a pet spaniel running after a greyhound, for our boat keptcareening over and literally racing through the sea. 

In five minutes I found that the canoes were so far behind that we hadno more cause for fear, and, altering our course so as to sail gently onabout a mile from the shore, I gave Ebo the sheet to hold, knelt down, bathed Uncle Dick's face, and bound up a great cut that had laid openhis head. 

My work had its reward, for, partly from the freshness of the water, partly from the pain I must have caused him, my uncle revived, staredwildly about him for a few minutes, and then, as he realised ourposition, he muttered a little to himself, and ended by shaking handswith me and Ebo, holding the black palm of the latter in his own forsome moments, as he looked our follower in the face. 

"I was much to blame, Nat, " he said at last. 

"I ought to have been more guarded; but I could not think that thesepeople were so treacherous. "

CHAPTER FORTY. 

WE SECURE FRESH TREASURES. 

Our injuries soon grew better, but though we kept on sailing for daysand days past the most tempting-looking spots, we never dared to land, for always as soon as we neared some gloriously-wooded track, all hill, dale, and mountain, and amidst whose trees the glasses showed us plentyof birds, the inhabitants began to cluster on the shore, and when onceor twice my uncle said that we would go in nearer and see, the samecustom was invariably observed: the people came shouting and dancingabout the beach holding out birds and bunches of feathers and shells, making signs for us to land. 

There was no need for Ebo to grow excited and cry, "No--no! man-kill!man-kill!" for my uncle laughed and shook his head. 

"They must try another way of baiting their traps, Nat, " he would crylaughing. "My head is too sore with blows and memories to be caughtagain. "

It was always the same. No sooner did the treacherous savages find thatwe would not land than they rushed to their canoes, and began to pursueus howling and yelling; but the swift-sailed boat was always ready toleave them far behind, and we were only too glad to find that thepleasant brisk breezes stood our friends. 

"I would not loiter here, Nat, " he said, "amidst such a treacherous, bloodthirsty set, but the great island is so tempting that I long for aramble amongst its forests. I know that there are plenty of wonderfulspecimens to be obtained here. New kinds of paradise birds, butterflies, and beetles, and other attractions that it would be a sinnot to obtain. "

"Perhaps we shall find a place by and bye where there are noinhabitants, uncle, " I said. 

"That is what I have been hoping for days, " he replied; and not longafter we sailed round a headland into a beautiful bay with the whitestof sand, trees clustering amidst the lovely yellow stone cliffs, and abright stream of water flowing through a gorge and tumbling over two orthree little barriers of rocks before losing itself in the calm watersof the bay. 

Some six or seven miles back was a high ridge of mountains, which seemedto touch the sea to east and west, cutting off as it were a narrow stripfrom the mainland, and this strip, some fifteen miles long and six wideat its greatest, was fertile in the extreme. 

"Why, Nat, " cried my uncle, "this should be as grand a place as ourisland. If it is free of savages it is the beau ideal of a naturalist'sstation. Look! what's that?"

"A deer come out of the wood to drink in the stream, " I said. 

"Poor deer, " laughed my uncle, "I'm afraid it will have to come into ourlarder, for a bit of venison is the very thing we want. "

As he spoke he cautiously took up a rifle, rested it upon the edge ofthe boat, waited a few moments, and then fired at fully five hundredyards' distance, and I saw the deer make one great bound and fall dead. 

"Good! Eatum, " said Ebo approvingly; but instead of indulging in afrantic dance he shaded his eyes and gazed about in every direction, carefully sweeping the shore, and paying no heed to us as the boat wassailed close in. 

As the keel was checked by the sand Ebo leaped out, and I thought he wasabout to rush at the deer to skin it for food, but he ran off rapidly inone direction right along the shore, coming back at the end of a quarterof an hour, during which, after dragging our prize on board, weremained, gun in hand, upon the watch. 

Ebo started again and went in the other direction, being away longerthis time, but returning triumphant to indulge in a dance, and help dragthe boat into a place of safety before proceeding to light a fire. 

Venison steaks followed, and after another exploration we found that wewere in so thoroughly uninhabited a part of the island that we built ahut and slept ashore perfectly undisturbed. 

The next morning we had another exploration, to find that, as my unclehad supposed, the ridge of mountains cut us off from the rest of theisland, and finding nothing to fear we once more set to work. 

Parrots were in profusion, and so were the great crowned pigeons; theselatter becoming our poultry for the table. There was an abundance, though, of birds of large size, whose skins we did not care to preserve, but which, being fruit-eaters, were delicious roasted. Then we hadanother deer or two; caught fish in the bay; and literally revelled inthe bounteous supply of fruit. 

Meanwhile we were working industriously over our specimens, findingparoquets that were quite new to us, splendid cockatoos, and some thatwere as ugly as they were curious. 

Sun-birds, pittas, lovely starlings, kingfishers, and beautifully-tintedpigeons were in abundance. Bright little manakins of a vivid green werethere, so feathered that they put me in mind of the rich orangecock-of-the-rocks that Uncle Dick had brought over from Central America. 

Sometimes we were shooting beside the lovely trickling stream where itgathered itself into pools to form tiny waterfalls, places where somebirds seemed to love to come. At others, beneath some greatflower-draped tree, where the sun-birds hovered and darted. But thegreat objects of our search, the birds of paradise, haunted the nut andberry bearing trees. Some were always to be found by a kind of palmthat attracted the pigeons as well, these latter swallowing fruit thatlooked as big as their heads. 

Here, to our intense delight, we shot the paradise oriole, a magnificentorange, yellow, and black bird, its head looking as if it was coveredwith a lovely orange plush. 

One day we had made a longer excursion than usual, and had been sosuccessful that we were about to turn back, having a long afternoon'swork before us to preserve our specimens. We had penetrated right tothe mountainous ridge, and finding the ground rise very rapidly we cameto a standstill, when a peculiar cry up amongst the tree-shadowed rocksabove us made us forget our fatigue, especially as Ebo was making signs. 

The cry was so different to any that we had before heard that we feltthat it must be some new bird, and full of eagerness set to work tostalk it. 

All at once what seemed a flash of dark blue darted from a tree, andbefore gun could reach shoulder it was gone. 

But Ebo had been on the watch, and away he crept amongst the rocks andtrees, following what we now took to be a prize, till we saw him aquarter of a mile away holding up his spear as a signal. 

We followed cautiously, and with a look of intelligence in his eyes hesigned to my uncle to go one way towards a clump of tall palms, and tome to go in the other direction. 

"Fire upwards, " whispered my uncle, and we parted. 

I knew from Ebo's ways that the bird must be in one of these trees, andwith my eyes sweeping the great leaves in all directions I tried to makeout the bird, but in vain, and I had advanced so near that I gave up allhope of seeing it, when suddenly from the other side there was a shot, then another, and feeling satisfied that my uncle had secured the prizeI was completely taken off my guard, and stared with astonishment as alarge bird, with tail quite a couple of feet long, swept by me towardsthe dense undergrowth of the lower ground, where it would have been invain to hunt for it. 

Just, however, as the bird was darting between the trees I raised my gunand made a quick snapshot at quite sixty yards' distance, and thencalled myself a stupid for not being more ready and for wasting a chargeof powder and shot. 

My uncle hailed me now. 

"Any luck, Nat?" he cried, as he came up. 

"No, uncle, " I replied. "I made a flying shot, but it was too far-off. "

"So were mine, Nat, but I fired on the chance of getting the bird. Itwas a bird of paradise different to any I have seen. We must comeagain. I never had a chance at it. "

"But I did, uncle, " I said dolefully, "and missed it. "

"Where was it when you fired?"

"Down among those trees, uncle. I let it go too far. "

"Why, you hit it, Nat! There's Ebo. "

I looked, and to my intense delight there was our black companionholding up the bird in triumph. He had seen it fall when I shot, markedit down, and found it amongst the dense undergrowth, placing it beforeus with hardly a feather disarranged. 

It was a splendid bird, the last we shot in New Guinea, and over threefeet long, its tail being two and of a lovely bluish tint. If looked atfrom one side it was bronze, from the other green, just as the lightfell, while from its sides sprung magnificent plumes of rich blue andgreen. They were not long, filmy plumes like those of the great bird ofparadise, but short, each widening towards the end, and standing up likea couple of fans above the wings. 

It was a feast to gaze upon so lovely an object of creation, and I feltmore proud of having secured that specimen than of any bird I had shotbefore. 

"Well, Nat the Naturalist, " cried my uncle, when he had carefully hungthe bird by its beak from a stick, "I think I did right in bringing youwith me. "

"I am glad you think so, uncle, " I said. 

"I mean it, my boy, for you have been invaluable to me. It was worthall the risk of coming to this savage place to get such a bird as that. "

"There must be plenty more wonderful birds here, uncle, " I said, "if wecould stop in safety. "

"I am sure there are, Nat, and there is nothing I should like betterthan to stay here. It is a regular naturalist's hunting-ground and fullof treasures, if we dared thoroughly explore it. "

"Just now, uncle, " I said, "I feel as if I want to do nothing else butsit down and rest by a good dinner. Oh! I am so fagged!"

"Come along, then, " he said smiling, "and we will make straight forcamp, and I dare say we can manage a good repast for your lordship. Home, Ebo. Eat--drink--sleep. "

"Eat--drink--sleep, " said Ebo nodding, for he knew what those threewords meant, and carefully carrying the treasures we had shot, tied atregular distances along a stick, he trudged on in advance towards ourhut upon the shore. 

CHAPTER FORTY ONE. 

OUR TERRIBLE LOSSES. 

We had only about three miles to go if we could have flown like birds;but the way lay in and out of rocks, with quite a little precipice todescend at times, so that the journey must have been double that length. The hope of a good meal, however, made us trudge on, and after a fewstops to rest I saw that we must now be nearing the shore, for theground was much more level. 

So different did it appear, though, that I hardly recognised some of it, and had it not been for Ebo I am sure we should have gone astray; but, savage like, he seemed to have an unerring instinct for finding his wayback over ground he had been over before, and we had only to look backat him if we were in front for him to point out the way with thegreatest of confidence. 

We were trudging on in front, talking in a low tone about making anotherexpedition into the mountainous part, in the hope of finding it, thehigher we climbed, more free from risk of meeting natives, and we werenow getting so near the shore that we could hear the beat of the wavesupon a reef that lay off our hut, and sheltered the boat from beingwashed about, when all of a sudden, as we were traversing some low, scrubby bushes which were more thorny than was pleasant, Ebo suddenlystruck us both on the shoulder, forcing us down amongst the leaves andtwigs, and on looking sharply round we saw that he had dropped oursplendid specimens, and, wild-eyed and excited, he was crouching too. 

"Why, Ebo, " began my uncle; but the black clapped his hand upon hismouth, and then pointed to the shore in front. 

I felt my blood turn cold; for there, not fifty yards away, and dimlyseen through the shade of leaves, was a party of about fifty New Guineamen, with a couple of dozen more in three canoes that were lying justoutside the reef. They were a fierce-looking lot, armed with spears, axes, and clubs, and they were gesticulating and chattering fiercelyabout our boat. 

I heard my uncle utter a groan, for it seemed as if the labours of allthese months upon months of collecting were wasted, and that specimens, stores, arms, everything of value, would fall into the hands of thesesavages. He was perfectly calm directly after, and crouched there withhis gun ready for a chance, should there be any necessity for its use;but he knew that it was useless to attempt to fight, all we could do wasto save our lives. 

After about half an hour's talk the savages embarked, taking our boat intow behind one of their canoes, and we saw the bright water flash as thepaddles beat regularly, and the men sent their craft along till theyswept round the headland west of the bay and were gone. 

"Oh, uncle!" I cried, as soon as we were safe. 

"It is very hard, Nat, my boy, " he said sadly; "but it might have beenworse. We have our lives and a little ammunition; but the scoundrelshave wrecked my expedition. "

"And we have no boat, uncle. "

"Nor anything else, Nat, " he said cheerfully. "But we have plenty ofpluck, my boy, and Ebo will help us to make a canoe to take us to theMoluccas, where I dare say I can get some merchant to fit us out again. Well, Ebo, " he cried, "all gone!"

"Man--kill--gone, " repeated Ebo, shaking his spear angrily, and then hekept repeating the word Owe--boat, as we went down to the shore. 

"Let's see if they have left anything in the hut, Nat, " said my uncle. "We must have food even if we are stripped. "

We turned through the bushes and made our way into the littlearbour-like spot beside the stream where Ebo had built our hut beneath asplendid tree, when, to our utter astonishment, we found that thesavages had not seen our little home, but had caught sight of the boat, landed and carried it off, without attempting to look for its owners. No one had been there since we left, that was evident; and pleased as wewere, our delight was more than equalled by Ebo's, for laying down ourspecimens, this time more carefully, he refreshed himself with a dancebefore lighting a fire, where a capital meal was prepared, which wethankfully enjoyed as we thought of the benefits we received by havingthe forethought to carry everything out of the boat and placing it undercover for fear of rain. 

The savages then had taken nothing but our boat, and the next thing wasto set to work to construct another, for my uncle said he should notfeel satisfied to stay where we were longer, without some means ofretreat being ready for an emergency. 

Before lying down we managed to ask Ebo what he thought of our beingable to build a canoe that would carry us and our luxuries. For replyhe laughed, pointed to our axes and to the trees, as if to say, What afoolish question when we have all the material here!

I was so wearied, and slept so heavily, that I had to be awakened by myuncle long after the sun was up. 

"Come, Nat, " he said, "I want you to make a fire. Ebo has gone offsomewhere. "

I made the fire, after which we had a hasty breakfast, and then workedhard at skin making--preserving all our specimens. 

The day glided by, but Ebo did not come, and feeling no disposition tocollect more, in fact not caring now to fire, we had a look round to seewhich would be the most likely place to cut down a tree and beginbuilding a boat. 

"It is lucky for us, Nat, " said my uncle, "that Ebo belongs to a nationof boat-builders. Perhaps he has gone to search for a suitable placeand the kind of wood he thinks best; but I wish he would come. "

Night fell and no Ebo. The next morning he was not there; and as dayafter day glided by we set ourselves to work to search for him, feelingsure that the poor fellow must have fallen from some precipice and belying helpless in the forest. But we had no success, and began to thinkthen of wild beasts, though we had seen nothing large enough to bedangerous, except that worst wild beast of all, savage man. 

Still we searched until we were beginning to conclude that he must havebeen seen by a passing canoe whose occupants had landed and carried himoff. 

"I don't think they would, uncle, " I said, though; "he is too sharp andcunning. Why, it would be like seeking to catch a wild bird to try andget hold of Ebo, if he was out in the woods. "

"Perhaps you are right, Nat, " said my uncle. "There is one way, though, that we have never tried, I mean over the mountain beyond where you shotthat last bird. To-morrow we will go across there and see if there areany signs of the poor fellow. If we see none then we must set to workourselves to build a canoe or hollow one out of a tree, and I tremble, Nat, for the result. "

"Shall we be able to make one big enough to carry our chests, uncle?"

"No, Nat, I don't expect it. If we can contrive one that will carry usto some port we must be satisfied. There I can buy a boat, and we mustcome back for our stores. "

We devoted the next two days to a long expedition, merely using our gunsto procure food, and reluctantly allowing several splendid birds toescape. 

But our expedition only produced weariness; and footsore and worn out wereturned to our hut, fully determined to spend our time in trying whatwe could contrive in the shape of a boat, falling fast asleep, sad atheart indeed, for in Ebo we felt that we had lost a faithful friend. 

CHAPTER FORTY TWO. 

AN EXPERIMENT IN BOAT-BUILDING. 

"It is of no use to be down-hearted, Nat, " said my uncle the nextmorning. "Cheer up, my lad, and let's look our difficulties in theface. That's the way to overcome them, I think. "

"I feel better this morning, uncle, " I said. 

"Nothing like a good night's rest, Nat, for raising the spirits. Thisloss of the boat and then of our follower, if he is lost, are two greatmisfortunes, but we must bear in mind that before all this hardlyanything but success attended us. "

"Except with the savages, uncle, " I said. 

"Right, Nat: except with the savages. Now let's go down to the shoreand have a good look out to sea. "

We walked down close to the water, and having satisfied ourselves thatno canoes were in sight, we made a fire, at which our coffee was soongetting hot, while I roasted a big pigeon, of which food we never seemedto tire, the supply being so abundant that it seemed a matter of courseto shoot two or three when we wanted meat. 

"I'd give something, Nat, " said my uncle, as we sat there in the soft, delicious sea air, with the sunshine coming down like silver raysthrough the glorious foliage above our heads--"I'd give something, Nat, if boat-building had formed part of my education. "

"Or you had gone and learned it, like Peter the Great, uncle. "

"Exactly, my boy. But it did not, so we must set to work at once andsee what we can do. Now what do you say? How are we to make a boat?"

"I've been thinking about it a great deal, uncle, " I said, "and I waswondering whether we could not make a bark canoe like the Indians. "

"A bark canoe, eh, Nat?"

"Yes, uncle. I've seen a model of one, and it looks so easy. "

"Yes, my boy, these things do look easy; but the men who make them, savages though they be, work on the experience of many generations. Ittook hundreds of years to make a good bark canoe, Nat, and I'm afraidthe first manufacturers of that useful little vessel were drowned. No, Nat, we could not make a canoe of that kind. "

"Then we must cut down a big tree and hollow it out, uncle, only it willtake a long time. "

"Yes, Nat, but suppose we try the medium way. I propose that we cutdown a moderately-sized tree, and hollow it out for the lower part ofour boat, drive pegs all along the edge for a support, and weave in thata basket-work of cane for the sides as high as we want it. "

"But how could we make the sides watertight, uncle?" I said; "thereseem to be no pine-trees here to get pitch or turpentine. "

"No, Nat, but there is a gum to be found in large quantities in theearth, if we can discover any. The Malays called it _dammar_, and useit largely for torches. It strikes me that we could turn it into asplendid varnish, seeing what a hard resinous substance it is. Ebowould have found some very soon, I have no doubt. "

"Then I must find some without him, uncle, " I said. "I shall go huntingfor it whenever I am not busy boat-building. "

He smiled at my enthusiasm, and after examining the skins to see thatthey were all dry and free from attacks of ants, we each took a hatchetand our guns, and proceeded along by the side of the shore in search ofa stout straight tree that should combine the qualities of being light, strong, easy to work, and growing near the sea. 

We quite came to the conclusion that we should have a great deal oflabour, and only learn by experience which kind of tree would besuitable, perhaps having to cut down several before we found one thatwould do. 

"And that will be bad, uncle, " I said. 

"It will cause us a great deal of labour, Nat, " he replied smiling; "butit will make us handy with our hatchets. "

"I did not mean that, uncle, " I replied; "I was thinking of savagescoming in this direction and seeing the chips and cut-down trees. "

"To be sure, Nat, you are right. That will be bad; but as we are cutoff so from the rest of the island, we must be hopeful that we may getour work done before they come. "

We spent four days hunting about before we found a tree that possessedall the qualities we required. We found dozens that would have done, only they were far away from the shore, where it would have been verydifficult to move our boat afterwards to the water's edge. 

But the tree we selected offered us a thick straight stem twenty feetlong, and it was so placed that the land sloped easily towards the sea, and it was sufficiently removed from the beach for us to go on with ourwork unseen. 

We set to at once to cut it down, finding to our great delight as soonas we were through the bark that the wood was firm and fibrous, and yeteasy to cut, so that after six hours' steady chopping we had made a biggap in the side, when we were obliged to leave off because it was dark. 

We worked the next day and the next, and then my uncle leaned against itwhile I gave a few more cuts, and down it went with a crash amongst theother trees, to be ready for working up into the shape we required. 

Next morning as soon as it was light we began again to cut off the topat the length we intended to have our boat, a task this which saved thelabour of chopping off the branches. I worked hard, and the labour wasmade lighter by Uncle Dick's pleasant conversation. For he chattedabout savage and civilised man, and laughingly pointed out how thelatter had gone on improving. 

"You see what slow laborious work this chipping with our axes is, Nat, "he said one day, as we kept industriously on, "when by means ofcross-cut saws and a circular saw worked by steam this tree could besoon reduced to thin boards ready for building our boat. "

Birds came and perched near us, and some were very rare in kind, but wefelt that we must leave them alone so as to secure those we hadobtained, and we worked patiently on till at the end of a week the treebegan to wear outside somewhat the shape of a boat, and it was justabout the length we required. 

It was terribly hard work, but we did not shrink, and at last, aftercongratulating ourselves upon having got so far without being interferedwith by the savages, we had shouldered our guns and were walking back tothe hut one evening when we caught sight of a black figure runningacross an opening, and we knew that our time of safety was at an end. 

"It is what I have always feared, Nat, " said my uncle quickly. "Quick;put big-shot cartridges in your gun. We will not spill blood if we canhelp it, but it is their lives or ours, and we must get safely backhome. "

"What shall we do now?" I said huskily. 

"Wait and see what the enemy mean to do, and--"

"Hi, yi, yi--Hi, yi, yi--Hi, yi, yi. Hey. Nat, mi boy. Ung-kul!" cameshrilly through the trees. 

"Hooray!" I shrieked, leaping out of my hiding-place. "Ebo! Ebo! Hi, yi, yi--Hi, yi, yi. Hooray!"

We ran to meet him, and he bounded towards us, leaping, dancing, rollingon the ground, hugging us, and seeming half mad with delight as hedragged us down to the sea-side, where a new surprise awaited us. 

For there upon shore, with her anchor fixed in the sands, lay our boatapparently quite uninjured. 

As Ebo danced about and patted the boat and then himself, it was plainenough to read the cause of his disappearance. He had gone off alongthe shore following the savages to their village, and then watched hisopportunity to sail off. And this he had of course done, placing theboat safely in its old moorings. 

He made signs for something to eat, and then I noticed that he lookedvery thin; and it was evident that the poor fellow had suffered terribleprivations in getting back our treasure, and proving himself so good afriend. 

CHAPTER FORTY THREE. 

FAREWELL TO A FRIEND. 

"Don't you feel disappointed, Nat?" said my uncle smiling. "We shallnot be able to finish our boat. "

"I shall get over it, uncle, " I said. "Hallo! what's the matter withEbo?"

For before he had half finished eating he jumped up and made signs to uswhich we did not understand, and then began to drag one of the chestsdown towards the boat. 

"I see, Nat; he means it is not safe to stay, " said my uncle; andsetting to work we got all our treasures safely on board, with such foodand fruit as we had ready, filled the water barrel, and then paused. 

But Ebo was not satisfied; he chattered excitedly and signed to us tolaunch the boat. 

"I'll take his advice, " said my uncle. "He means that the savages maybe in pursuit. "

So, pushing off, the sail was hoisted, and in the bright starlight ofthe glorious night we sailed away, carefully avoiding the reef, wherethe rollers were breaking heavily, and before we were half a mile fromthe shore Ebo pressed my arm and pointed. 

"Only just in time, Nat, " said my uncle. 

"What an escape!"

For there, stealing cautiously along between us and the white sandyshore, we counted five large canoes, whose occupants were paddlingsoftly so as to make no noise, and but for Ebo's sharp eyes they wouldhave passed us unseen. 

We had no doubt that they were going after our boat, and had they beenhalf an hour sooner our fate would have been sealed. As it was they didnot see the tall sail that swept us swiftly along, and by the time thesun rose brightly over the sea we were far enough away from danger tolook upon it as another trouble passed. 

We ran in two or three times where we found that there were noinhabitants and obtained a few birds and some fruit; but this was sodangerous a task that we afterwards contented ourselves with fish, whichwe cooked upon some sandy spot or reef where the coast was clear, and wecould have seen the savages at a great distance, so as to leave plentyof time for escape. 

My uncle turned the boat's head south very reluctantly at last, forthere was a mystery and temptation about the vast isle of New Guineathat was very attractive. The birds and insects we had collected therewere, some of them, quite new to science, and he used to say that if hecould have stayed there long enough our specimens would have beeninvaluable. 

Still it was impossible, for the danger was too great, and besides, ashe said, we should have been nearly three years away from home by thetime we reached England, and it would be our wisest course to make sureof what we had obtained. 

In due time we sailed to Ebo's island, where we found that the captainof the prahu on board which we had come, had been, and sailed once more, so that it would be months before we could see him again. 

Under these circumstances, and to Ebo's great delight, we left ourchests of specimens sealed up in a hut, where we felt that they would bequite safe, and then, with Ebo for guide, we sailed to Ceram, a largeisland, where we were able to purchase stores, and from there to theMoluccas, where we did better. 

At both of these places we made many expeditions, collecting both birdsand insects, some of them being very lovely; but there was a want ofnovelty about them, my uncle said, the ground having been so oftenvisited before. And at last we sailed south again to Ebo's island, finding all our stores and specimens quite safe and sound, and spendinga few days in sunning and repacking them. 

By that time the captain of the prahu had arrived, ready to welcome uswarmly, for he had been afraid that ill had befallen us. 

He could not stay long, so our chests were placed on board, and at lastthere was nothing to do but to take farewell of Ebo, the true-heartedfellow, whose dejected look went to my heart. 

He cheered up a little as my uncle gave him four new axes, as manypocket-knives, the residue of our beads and brass wire, and theremaining odds and ends that we had bought to barter; but above all, thegift that sent him off into a fit of dancing was that of the boat, allcomplete as it was. 

At first he seemed to think that he was to give us something inexchange, and consequently he began to fetch all sorts of treasures, ashe considered them. When at last, though, he knew it was a present, hisdelight knew no bounds, and he danced and sang for joy. 

The next morning we said good-bye, and the last I saw of poor Ebo was ashe stood in his boat watching us and waving his spear, and I'm notashamed to say that the tears stood in my eyes as I wondered whether Ishould ever see that true, generous fellow again. 

CHAPTER FORTY FOUR. 

HOME AGAIN. 

It was on a bright sunny day in July that my uncle and I jumped into acab and bade the man drive us to the old house, where I had passed somany happy as well as unhappy days. 

"We will not stop to go and see barbers or to dress, Nat, but go andtake them by surprise, " said my uncle; and for the first time I began towonder whether I had altered. 

"Am I very much more sunburnt than I used to be?" I said suddenly, aswe drew near the door. 

"Well, you are not quite black, " he said laughing, "but you havealtered, Nat, since they saw you last. "

How my heart beat as we walked up to the front door, where the maid, astranger, stared at us, and said that her mistress was out, and lookedsuspiciously at us, evidently, as she afterwards owned, taking us forsailor fellows with parrots and silk things for sale. 

"Where's Uncle Joseph?" I said sharply. 

"Oh, please, sir, are you Master Nathaniel, who's far away at sea?" shecried. 

"I am Nathaniel, " I said laughing, "but I'm not far away at sea. Where's Uncle Joe?"

"He's down the garden, sir, smoking his pipe in the tool-house, " saidthe girl smiling; and I dashed through the drawing-room, jumped down thesteps, and ran to the well-remembered spot, to find dear old Uncle Joesitting there with all my treasures carefully dusted but otherwiseuntouched; and as I stood behind him and clapped my hands over his eyes, there was he with poor old Humpty Dumpty before him. 

"Who--who's that?" he cried. 

"Guess!" I shouted. 

"I--I can't guess, " he said. "I don't know you. Let go or I shall callfor help. "

"Why, Uncle Joe!" I cried, taking away my hands and clasping his. 

He stared at me from top to toe, and at last said in a trembling voice:

"You're not my boy Nat?"

"But indeed I am, uncle, " I cried. 

"My boy Nat _was a boy_, " he said nervously, "not a big six-foot fellowwith a gruff voice, and--my dear Dick. Why, then, it is Nat after all. "

The old man hugged me in his arms, and was ready to shed weak tears, forUncle Dick had followed me and was looking on. 

"Why, why, why--what have you been doing to him, Dick?" cried Uncle Joeexcitedly. "Here, he can't be our Nat, and he has got a man's voice, and he is bigger than me, and he is nearly black. Why, here's Sophy--Sophy, dear, who's this?"

I caught her in my arms and kissed her, and she too stared at me insurprise, for I suppose I had altered wonderfully, though in my busylife of travel I had taken little note of the change. 

It was very pleasant to settle down once more in quiet and sort ourspecimens, or tell Uncle Joe of all our dangers by land and sea; butafter a time, although Aunt Sophia was now very kind and different towhat she had been of old, there came a strong feeling upon me at timesthat I should once more like to be wandering amidst the beautifulislands of the Eastern Seas, watching the wondrous beauties of the worldbeneath the shallow waters, or the glorious greens of the trees upon thetropic shores. The boy who loves nature goes on loving nature to theend, for I may say that Uncle Dick spoke the truth when he said that Iought to be called Nat the Naturalist, for I feel that I am Nat theNaturalist still. 

"Uncle Dick, " I said one day, "shall we ever have another trip togethercollecting birds?"

"Time proves all things, my boy, " he said; "wait and see. "